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THE LAND; ITS LORD 

AND 

SACRED LORE 



THE STORY TOLD IN VERSE OF THE LIFE OF 
THE LORD JESUS; 

THE LAND WHERE HE LIVED; 

HIS PRECEPTS. PARABLES, AND SIGNS OF 
HIS AUTHORITY; 

AS STUDIED IN THE JERUSALEM 

PILGRIMAGES OF 1904 

AND 1910 

BY 

BENNETT J. LOOMIS 

ONE OF THE PILGRIMS 

PAST PRESIDENT OF THE OHIO SUNDAY SCHOOL 
ASSOCIATION 



COLUMBUS, OHIO : 
THE STONEMAN PRESS COMPANY 

1910 






Copyright 1910 

BY 

Bennett J. Loomis 



©CIA27538^ 



TO 

REV. JOSEPH CLARK, D. D. 

THE VERSATILE WRITER, AND CONSECRATED. TIRELESS, 

MOST EFFICIENT. BIBLE SCHOOL ASSO- 

CIATION SECRETARY. 

THESE PAGES 
' ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 



To follow with absolute and unvarying fidelity the narrative 
contained in the gospels of the things concerning Jesus of Naza- 
reth, has been the aim of the writer of these pages. Startling 
indeed are His teachings, and marvelous indeed the carelessness 
with which they are treated by the professed teachers of the Word 
in the 20th century of grace. 



The Prince of Peace 



THE bloody deeds of lurid war 
Have often moved the poet's pen: 
The rumbling of the conqueror's car 
And trains of exiled captive men. 

My Muse shall tell, in artless verse, 
The story of the Prince of Peace: 

His words, and deeds of love, rehearse, 
Who would all captive souls release. 

Christ came not, as in later days. 
Came knight in armor clad 

To aid a princess, in distress. 
And strike oppressors dead. 

No 'squire to wait His word had He; 

No brazen helmet wore; 
No shield from Vulcan's armory. 

No spear or sword He bore. 

No Arab steed of famous blood, 

Caparisoned for war. 
When He would go forth waiting stood, 

A warrior's weight to bear. 

He trod the way with sandled feet — 
The rough and dusty road — 

Content the slaves of sin to meet. 
And bear away their load. 
5 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

For this shall great cathedrals rise, 

In honor of His name; 
The cross. His emblem, pierce the skies. 

And men His praise proclaim. 

And, summoned by the deep toned bell, 
Men throng the sacred fane; 

And organ peal and anthem tell 
The glories of His reign. 

And He of life and death the Lord — 
Hope beckoned where He went; 

And sin and wrong before His word. 
Were doomed to banishment. 

THE PILGRIMAGE. 

The broad Atlantic we had crossed. 
We were eight hundred strong; 

United in a pilgrimage, 
With prayer and joyous song. 

Madeira, old enchanted isle, — 

What words of welcome came. 
From Christian brethren stationed there. 

To call men "in His name." 

Gibraltar, word for lasting strength, — 

A kindred people here. 
Beneath the symbol of the cross, 

Gave all our hearts good cheer. 

The story of old armored knights. 

Was told us on our way; 
What they endured, their stubborn fights; — 

We sailed past St. Paul Bay. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

With lecture and with comradeship, 

We coasted the great sea, 
To Athens and the Grecian gulf, 

A goodly company. 

While brightly shone the April sun 
We climbed the famous Hill of Mars; 

And heard, where sat the Athens court, 
Of life beyond the stars. 

Byzantium's old-time capital 

We had explored, and seen 
The Sultan's palace. Golden Horn 

And all that passed between. 

Had sailed the blue ^gean Sea 

That laves a hundred isles. 
Till we had come to anchor where 

The sun on Carmel smiles: 

Were driven over Gihon brook. 

Along Esdraelon plain, 
To Nazarath and to the lake 

To inspiration gain. 

Then came that long to be remembered morn — 
The converse, prayer, and praises upward borne 
In sunrise meeting, gathered by the sea. 
The vibrant "Jesus Savior, Pilot Me." 

So had that day in sacred scenes begun; 
And it had left, when twilight hours had flown. 
Such impress of the land, and of its Lord, 
\s in these pages I would fain record. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 



"Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the 
world."— John 1:29. 

"xjut as many as received Him, to them gave He the right 
to become the children of God, even to them that believe in 
His name." — John 1:12. 

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which 
was lost." — Luke 19:10, 

"These things are written that ye may believe, that Jesus is 
the Christ the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life 
in His name." — John 20:30. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of 
Heaven." 

"Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." 
"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." 
"Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness for they shall be filled." 

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." 
'Blssed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." 
"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called, the 
children of God." 

"Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake 
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." 

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute 
you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. 
Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is you reward in 
Heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets that were be- 
fore you." — Matt. v. 



A Seaside Meditation 



DEVOUT, a pilgrim from his land afar, 
Sits musing, on a sunny Sabbath, where 
Green hills look out upon the little sea, 
To Christians ever dear — sweet Gallilee; 
Sits musing, where full twenty centuries asleep, 
In blood cemented dust their tragic story keep. 
From youth, a dream this hour and scene have been; 
'Till now the years have passed, threescore and ten 
Fond memories of lessons childhood learns 
Here blend with all the eager eye discerns — 
The story of the men of faith of old 
That by the hearthstone oft was read and told. 
A nation's birth, rise, glory and decay, 
While judges, prophets, kings in turn bear sway. 
And, after them, — who was before them all 
The Highest, humblest came at Mercy's call. 
White birds float idly o'er the placid lake; 
No jarring sounds the restful silence break; 
The sun beams brightly, blue the waters deep; 
Beyond, the rugged shores rise rude and steep. 

Still on the land, its Lord, and sacred lore — 
On these would thought, entranced, persistent pore. 
A world of contrasts here behold — 
Of busy mart, and peaceful shepherd's fold, 
Of melting summer heat, and winter cold; 
A desert wild the eastern boundary: 
And on the west the world's great central sea; 
Here deep and shadowed glen, there sunlit peak; 
Here verdant blooming vale, there mountains bleak; 
9 



10 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Bright fountains forth their sparkling water send, 

And lure fresh flowers from a thirsty land. 

Beside the treeless wilderness 

The husbandmen their vineyards dress; 

And fig trees crown the terraces; 

Fair fields old olive orchards grace, 

Quaint plows their shallow furrows trace; 

Where buried cities found their tomb 

Palms thrive, and oleanders bloom: 

Near crags and caves, fit hermit home. 

In pastures fresh, brown nomads roam 

The stony path leads to the plain — 

Wide billowed, sea of waving grain. 

I. 
THE RIVER JORDAN. 

The crooked Jordan rushes past 

Its rocky banks in frantic haste; 

Through tangled growth of shrub and barren tree, 

The turbid waters go to the Dead Sea — 

The haunt of every untamed beast and bird, 

And serpents vile, the mazy shores afford. 

Wild birds of prey in circling orbits fly. 

And from the hills is heard the jackal's cry. 

II. 
And this, the tiniest of seas, 
Has moods of strife and moods of peace — 
Calm as a sleeping babe today; 
Last night wind tossed in wave and spray. 
And here is every climate known 
In temperate and torrid zone: 
And, written everywhere abroad, 
"True are the oracles of God." 
Here sat a Herod on the throne; 
Here, weary, walked The Holy One. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 11 

III. 

RUINS. 

Along the water edge are strewn 

Old broken columns lying prone; 

And scattered blocks of chiseled stone, 

Mementoes of man's work o'erthrown. 

Grey ruins, old Crusader towers, 

Mark where have fought fanatic powers: 

Here Moslem, Christian, Romans, Jews, 

In battle poured their bood profuse; 

Impelled by bigotry and greed and pride. 

They fought and fell, and moulder side by side. 

IV. 

TIBERIAS. 

Tiberias, of old renown. 
Sits here, the ghost of Herod's town, — 
His gorgeous palace glittered here; 
Ai^ temple vast and theater, — 
\. heathen palace, fane and muse, 
Abhorred by patriotic Jews. 
In broken lines, these ruins tell 
How temple, stage and palace fell. 



TARACHEA. 

Mersheim: Life and Times of The Messiah. 

Some furlongs farther down the shore 
111 fated Tarachea bore 
The shock of wanton, wicked war. 
The waters crimsoned were, and plain. 
With blood of twice three thousand slain; 
Ten times three thousand captive went 



12 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

To bondage, shame, and banishment; 
Bereft of country, altar, home, 
To serve the gods and greed of Rome. 
The Prince of Peace had passed their way, 
And they refused His gentle sway. 

VI. 
MOUNT CARMEL. 

I King's xviii: 31-40. 
Mount Carmel, rising, clothed in green, 
Holds back the sea with brow serene — 
That goes out westward till it sees 
The Pillars of great Hercules, — 
The sea that spreads abroad its azure wave. 
The shores of three great continents to lave. 

VII. 

ELIJAH'S HEROIC CHALLENGE. 

On Carmel's summit once "the man of God," 
Elijah, in heroic grandeur stood; 
Demanding, in his holy ire, 
"A God that answereth by fire." 
Because of Jezebel, King Ahab's wife, 
All Israel with wickedness was rife. 
Four hundred heathen prophets of the grove 
And all of Baal's priests and prophets strove. 
Their altar built, their victim slain. 
And laid thereon, they cried in vain. 
From early morning till the day's decline, 
"O Baal, hear — hear us and send the sign!" 
They cut themselves with knives and danced 
About their altar; leaped and pranced. 
Elijah mocks their vain and futile prayers, 
The while God's ancient altar he repairs: 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 13 

"Your god's asleep; bid him awake — 

He should, with all the noise you make. 

Call louder, he's a God you know; 

How can he treat your worship so? 

Perhaps he goes wild game to track; 

Or else he journeys — call him back." 

And now has come the hour of evening offering 

When Israel were wont their gifts to bring; 

Exhausted by their obscene revelries, 

The priests their prayers and vile contortions cease. 

All Israel look on and hold their peace. 

Jehovah's broken altar stands restored, 

And, laid thereon, oblation to the Lord; 

Abundant water over all is poured; 

The voice that in a fierce derision glowed 

Goes up in prayer before Elijah's God. 

"God of our fathers, from Thy lofty throne 

Behold! and send the fire of witness down 

That these may know that Thou art God alone, 

And hast commanded this that I have done." 

In answer, flashing forth from cloudless skies, 

Straightway a fire consumes the sacrifice; 

What water poured profuse the altar drenched 

The living fire drinks up unquenched, 

And all the people, seeing, loud applaud, 

And shout, "Jehovah only is our God!" 

King Ahab swiftly drives his chariot to tell 

The tidings to his heathen Jezebel. 

That night the Kishon murmured to the main, 

Red dyed with blood of Baal's prophets slain. 

CRUSADERS' CASTLE. 

A grim old ruined tower marks the place 
Of Crusaders' last stand at Carmel's base; 
With frantic zeal their final battle fought, 
Their strife for conquest here had come to naught. 



14 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

VIII. 
MOUNT TABOR. 

Judges iv. 

Mount Tabor, faithful sentinel, 
Keeps watch above Esdraelon vale, 
That stretches to the western main — 
The world's oft tented battle plain; 
There many mighty armies met, 
And all the earth with blood was wet. 
Soil, so enriched, bright flowers bears; 
With them the sky its luster shares. 
Blood currents from old warriors flow 
And give their bloom a ruby glow. 

Once Deborah, from Tabor's height, 
Saw Sisera's great host in flight. 
When, from its chosen vantage, she 
Sent Barak forth to victory. 
The warrior sought the tent of Jael, 
Her firm hand drove the fatal nail. 

IX. 

MOUNT OF BEATITUDES. 

Matt, v-vii. 

On Hattin, once the multitude 
Around its Greatest Teacher stood, 
To hear each mild beatitude. 
And warnings of old seers renewed. 




£2 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 15 



CRUSADERS' BATTLEFIELD. 

Story of the Crusaders. 
Near where He taught— on Hattin's plain below— 
Crusaders fought and fell In final overthrow 
Where He had brought His messages of peace. 
When years had passed— well nigh twelve centuries, 
While pope, and Christian kings, in rivalry 
Unholy, strove for worldwide mastery, 
The blood red cross, by fierce Crusaders borne. 
Went down before the Moslem's sword and scorn. 
A hundred years of Christian kings had passed,— 
Rule gained in blood was quenched in blood at last. 
So was fulfilled the saying of the Lord— 
"Who take the sword shall perish with the sword." 
With dark forebodings Islam's sons await 
Their doom foretold — a sanguinary fate. 

XI. 

THE TURBANED TURK. 

The turbaned Turk, with iron hand. 

Rules all of this devoted land; 

The flag of the false prophet yet 

Floats here, by mosque and minaret — 

A flag of hate— emblazoned there 

A crescent moon, and evening star. 

Five times a day the devotee 

Spreads his prayer mat and bends the knee, 

And, turning toward his ancient shrines. 

His forehead to the earth inclines; 

Responds to the muezzin's cry — 

"Allah is great, I testify!" 

Then turns his robber craft to ply, 

And plunder strangers passing by. 



16 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XII. 
MOUNTS EBAL AND GERIZIM. 

Joshua xxiv. 
Mounts Ebal and Gerizim stand, 
Twin summits, in Ephraim's land; 
The newborn nation, gathered 
By Joshua, were thither led. 
To hear the law of Moses read — 
The blessings and dark warnings given, 
With trumpet blast — (so ordered Heaven). 
And all the people when they heard. 
Replied, "Amen!" with one accord. 

XIII. 

GADARA. 

Matt, viii: 34. 
Beyond the sea, Gadara rose — 
The ruins will the place disclose 
Where lived the men that fed their swine. 
And sent away the Lord Divine. 
Their tombs remain; the tenants dust; 
All that they strove to gain they lost. 

XIV. 

THE DOOMED CITIES. 

Matt, xi: 24. 
Bethsaida, Chorazin — then 
Were thronged by restless, striving men. 
All unrepentant, long ago, 
Bethsaida, Chorazin, low 
Were laid; uplifted unto Heaven; 
Cast down; in vain all warnings given: 
And in their condemnation fell 
Capernaum — "brought down to hell." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 17 

XV. 

CAPERNAUM. 

Exalted was Capernaum — 

A busy, proud emporium; 

There many "mighty works were done." 

Where Commerce raised her gilded throne 

No trace remains — all, all is gone — 

As He foretold, in warning tone. 



MOUNTAINS OF MOAB. 

Gen. xix. 
Dim rise the Moab hills afar, 
Along the southern border, where 
They form the fitting boundary 
Of that mysterious Dead Sea, 
Whose waters to the ages keep 
Four guilty cities buried deep. 

False Sodom, name of infamy, 

Gomorah, sharing guiltily. 

And Admah and Jeboim — all, 

On whom the fire from Heaven did fall. 

All of that border land was rife 

In every age with bloody strife. 



XVII. 
AN UNKNOWN GRAVE. 

Deut. xxxiv: 5, 6. 
Beyond, in Moab, in a grave unknown, 
The great Lawgiver, Leader, lies alone. 
He needs no monument of brass or stone; 
His loyal heart enduring fame hath won. 



18 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XVIII. 

MOUNT NEBO. 

Thin veiled stands Nebo, prince among 
The lesser peaks that round him throng; 
The heathen named him for their god: 
'Twas there the Hebrew prophet stood 
And viewed, in wide expanse, extend 
The glories of the promised land. 

XIX. 

THE HIDDEN ARK. 

Endersheim: I^ife and Times of The Messiah. 

In Nebo's cavern, secret, dark, 

Tradition said the holy ark 

And tabernacle, sacred tent. 

And altar, of burnt incense, sent 

By Jeremiah, were concealed. 

To be in later times revealed 

When He, The Promised One, appears 

And over all His kingdom rears — 

Till He shall reign, the Prince of Peace, 

And war with all its horrors cease. 

Another tale inventors of old myths relate — 
That these were hidden deep a-nigh the golden gate 
And wait below "The Rock" in deep profound 
Till Israel reclaims the sacred ground. 

XX. 

MOUNT HERMON. 

Matt, xvii; Mark ix; Luke ix. 
Outlined against the northern skies. 
Majestic Hermon greets our eyes; 
Distilling dew, and gentle rain, 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 19 

To water all the flowery plain. 

Transfigured there, the Son of God 

With Moses and Elijah stood — 

Essential glory shining through 

The veil that hid from mortal view — 

The glory with the Father had 

In Heaven before the worlds were made. 

XXI. 

SAMARIA. 

I Kings xvi: 24, 

Samaria, where Omri built his capital 
And Ahab ruled while ruled by Jezebel; 
Where Naaman, the Syrian, 
For healing from Damascus came, 
Drawn by the seer Elisha's fame- 
Samaria in ages past has been 
Of famine, drought and siege the scene; — 
A ruined colonade, to passers by 
Is sole reminder of her old time luxury. 

XXII. 

BETHEL. 

Gen. xxviil: 10; I King-s xii: 28. 
Green fields of growing grain the hill surround 
Where Jacob dreamed and saw in sleep profound — 
In Bethel saw a golden ladder rise, 
Set on the earth, aspiring to the skies. 
The sacred spot was with a golden calf profaned, 
When Jeroboam, jealous of the temple, reigned; 
For there aforetime, in a concourse great, 
The tribes in council and for worship met. 
"The House of God," "the very Gate of Heaven," 
Were titles by their father Jacob given. 



20 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XXIII. 

JOPPA. 

Jonah i: 1-4; Acts xi. 
From Joppa (Jaffa) Jonah sailed in flight 
To hide in Tarshish from Jehovah's sight. 
Arrested by a frightened heathen crew 
When raged the sea, and fierce the tempest blew; 
By them cast forth, the great sea monster bore 
Him back repentant to his native shore. 
In Simon's house, in Joppa, by the sea, 
Was Peter, by strange vision taught that he 
Call no one common, no one call unclean 
Whom God had cleansed of all the sons of men. 
Great cedars brought from Lebanon 
Were Hiram's gift to Solomon. 
A moslem mosque, unfinished, marks the spot, 
'Tis said, where Dorcas back to life was brought. 

XXIV. 

JERICHO. 

Joshua vi; I Kings xvi: 34. 

Near where the Jordan's waters flow 
Into the Dead Sea, Jericho, 
The ancient City of the Palm Trees, stood; 
By Joshua with trumpet sound subdued. 
Bound by his curse; razed to the ground 
Some centuries, a shapeless mound. 
It rose again, but in the blood of one, 
The daring builder's firstborn son. 

XXV. 

MIZPAH. 

I Samuel vii, x-xvii. 
Hard by the nation's ancient border line. 
Where Israel and Judah's kingdoms join, 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 21 

The rock called M^zpah a wide view commands 

from sea to desert over all their lands — 

"The watch tower" named; where oft the multitude 

On great occasion with their leaders stood. 

Here came the prophet, priest, judge, Samuel, 

For twoscore years held court in Israel; 

And when against Jehovah they rebel, 

Demand a king with strong, persistent call, 

With solemn protest he annoints King Saul. 

And here he comes to Saul with warning word — 

"Rejected king art thou, false to thy Lord!" 

Because to keep His law thou didst forbear; 

Obedience than sacrifice is better far." 

The pilgrim looks from Mizpah's peak today 

And reads the fate of such as disobey. 

In rock built tomb on Mizpah s breast 

Lies Samuel in his last rest, — 

Last, greatest of the judges all, 

Awaits the final trumpet call. 

MOUNT GILBOA. 

Gilboa frowns on Jezreel; 
There Saul, first king of Israel, 
In battle fought, and, wounded, fell 
On his own sword — ignoble died: 
Apostate, madman, suicide. 

XXVI. 

HEBRON. 

Genesis: Chapters xxv, xvii, xxviv, xxxv; Exodus: Chapter xiii; 
II Samuel: Chapter v. 

There is a cave near Hebron's vale. 
Of land the first recorded sale — 
To Abraham of old conveyed; 



22 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

With fields around, and trees for shade. 
Three generations there have place, 
The fathers of the Hebrew race. 

There Sarah first found sepulchre. 
And Abraham was laid by her, 
And Isaac, with Rebecca nigh; 
And Jacob there, and Leah lie — 
That Leah slumbers by his side, 
Who took him from his chosen bride; 
While Rachel sleeps, afar, alone. 
Near Bethlehem, King David's town. 
A Moslem mosque, above the tomb 
Of patriarchs, forbids to come 
The stranger, with a zealot's care 
Who does not Islam's worship share. 

Near Hebron, grapes of Eschol grew 
That spies bore forth to Moses' view. 
In Hebron David set his throne 
When first the kingdom he had won. 
Near Hebron grew the famous oak 
Where angels with the patriarch spoke. 
And Sarah laughed to hear it told 
That she should bear a son when old. 

XXVII. 
BETHLEHEM. 

Ruth; Luke li; II Samuel xxiii: 15-20. 
Among Judea's hills is Bethlehem — 
"The House of Bread," a far prophetic name; 
A royal rule had there unnoticed birth — 
Unnoticed by the powerful of earth, 
And there the wondrous Man to earth was given. 
Who said, "I am the Bread sent down from Heaven. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 23 

Out in the fields that Bethlehem surround 
The angel song was sung — inspiring sound; 
There faith and constancy reaped rich reward 
When modest Ruth won Boaz's pure regard, 
While gleaning in the fields of golden grain, 
Behind the reapers ranged, a toiling train; 
In their chaste union was the line begun 
Of Jesse, David and wise Solomon. 
From Bethlehem went Jesse's son 
To slay Goliah with but sling and stone; 
And by its gate was David's famous well — 
What courage there was shown old annals tell. 

XXVIII. 

THE HILL OF ZION. 

The hill where stood King David's throne, 
And temple of great Solomon, 
Now held by bloody Moslem hands, 
A witness of dire judgment stands; 
Bears witness mute to many lands, 
What woes upon the sons of Jacob fell 
When sadly they forsook the God of Israel. 

JERUSALEM. 

Jerusalem responds to Olivet, 

Of storm and sack and hearth with red blood wet, 

No other height in all the world can claim — 

Jerusalem — the wondrous magic of thy name. 

Thy glory and thy dreary fallen state, 

To quicken zeal good men in every age relate; 

Nor shall the nations e'er forget 

The Light that shone on Olivet. 



24 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

HIS WITNESSES. 

So every mountain slope and peak 
Would bear us witness could they speak, 
Of great events in w^ord and deed 
Whereof in the Old Book we read. 
Man builds his monuments in vain; 
The hills of God steadfast remain. 

XXIX. 

A LOCAL SCENE. 

The stolid Arab rides the plain, 
Before the sullen camel train; 
Or grasps with steady stroke the oar, 
And guides his boat from shore to shore: 
He spreads his black tent on the mead, 
Where goats and sheep and camels feed; 
Unchanged the man and scene appears 
By all recorded lapse of years, 
Save where the ready rifle here 
Usurps the place of trusted spear, — 
The rifle on his saddle bow, 
The spear his weapon long ago. 

THE SHIP OF THE DESERT. 

Genesis xxiv. 
The camel train — in days of yore 
Such carriage fair Rebecca bore — 
Rebecca, Isaac's trusting bride — 
Along this way — romantic ride. 

Strange beast, that follows, ill content. 
His path across a continent; 
His breath a groan, his face a frown 
Or rising up or kneeling down. 



"There is something about the droop of a camel's lower lip 
which seems to express unalterable disgust with the universe." — 
Dr. Van Dyke. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 25 

Great crooked, awkward striding beast, 
That bears the commerce of the East; 
He takes his color from the sa,nd, 
His shape from broken, hilly land. 

"Ships moving on a desert sea," 
Have these been called in poetry; 
In form and motion lacking grace. 
They fill a useful servant's place. 



26 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XXX. 

OLD SCENES RENEWED. 

THE silent sky smiles as of yore, 
The Jordan flows on as before; 
The sea reflects the sky the same 
As when the world's Redeemer came, 
And all the Father's love revealed: 
Still blooms the lily of the field; 
The tares still vex the growing grain, 
Where slopes of Hattin join the plain; 
The mustard seed, of seeds the least. 
Becomes a tree where birds may rest; 
And where the sower fain would sow, 
There choking thorns spring up and grow. 

All, mountain, river, sky and sea — 
All Nature smiling joyously. 
Are tokens of that day when He 
Walked here in gracious ministry. 
I, looking on these scenes, would fain 
Of Him a closer vision gain; 
With Him a fellowship would claim 
With those who most revere His name. 

XXXI. 

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD 

John 1. 
Out there, upon the pebbled beach, 
He came, the way of life to teach; 
He taught, to learned schools unknown; 
In Him the light of wisdom shone. 
The world in moral aarkness lay; 
His was the shining light of day. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lor^. 27 

"The Light of Asia?" Not alone — 
The Light of every land and zone: 
In all things wise, no need had He 
To study man's philosophy; 
Confessed, "A Teacher come from God," 
He shed the light of life abroad. 

A HOMELESS MAN. 
A homeless man was He who said, 
"He had not where to lay His head." 
To offer an enduring home 
To wanderers, had Jesus come. 
"For foxes, holes; for bird, its nest; 
For Son of man no place to rest." 

XXXII. 

HIS INVITATION. 

Matt, xi: 29, 30. 
"A Man of Sorrows and of Grief," 
He offered burc'ened souls relief. 
"Come unto Me," His kind behest — 
"To Me — and I will give you rest." 
"Come unto me" — such words He spoke, 
"And take my Ight and easy yoke. 
Light is the burden that they bear 
Who learn of Me, and meekly wear 
The yoke of my authority; 
For I am meek and lowly, ye 
Shall find rest for your souls in Me." 

XXXIII. 

JOHN'S TESTIMONY. 

John 1. 
His name and fame the people knew. 
For John had borne him witness true 
When enyoys from the temple sent, 



28 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

To John, beyond the Jordan, went 
To learn His mission and intent, 
And question what His baptism meant; 
And John, as Jesus near him stood. 
Proclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God- 
The Lamb of God, upon whose head 
The sins of all the world are laid. 

XXXIV. 

THE ANNUNCIATION. 

Luke i: 2j-26. 
In mystery His life began — 
He, Son of God, and Son of Man. 
To Nazareth, of Gallilee, 
Went Gabriel the angel; he 
A message from his Lord conveyed 
To Mary, Judah's blameless maid. 
His glory made her sore afraid. 
"Hail Mary! Favored of the Lord!" 
Such was the angel's greeting word. 
'Tear not, thou Mary, I bring here 
Glad news that shall all nations cheer." 

XXXV. 

SON OF THE HIGHEST. 

As Mary pondered — wondered 
What this might mean, the angel said, 
"Fear not, for thou shalt bear a son 
To sit, a king, on David's throne; 
The kingdom to restore again; 
And He forevermore shall reign. 
Son of the Highest He shall be— 
The most High shall o'ershadow thee. 
The Holy Spirit shall descend. 
To thee lifegiving Power extend, 
And pillowed on thy virgin breast 
The infant Son of God shall rest." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 29 

XXXVI. 

THE MAGNIFICAT. 

Luke i: 73. 
And Mary, child of David's line, 
Exulting in the heavenly sign. 
In song her grateful heart outpoured — 

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, 
Who, casting down the proud and great, 
Hath raised us from our low estate." 

xxxvii. 
THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

Luke ii: 8. 
So long ago, so far away, 
A Babe was born on Christmas Day. 
In Bethlehem this little Child, 
In Mary's arms, her heart beguiled. 
No costly robe this Child awaits; 
No welcome within palace gates. 
Not even in the inn was room 
For Child and mother, far from home. 
A manger in a rocky cave 
To Child and mother shelter gave — 
A stable where the beast was fed 
That Mary rode and Joseph led. 
From Nazareth the twain had come 
To this their father David's home, 
Compeled by stern decree of Rome. 

XXXVIII. 

THE ANGEL'S SONG. 

Luke ii. 
When Christ was born in Bethlehem, 
As Gabriel had bidden them. 
They called Him Jesus — precious name 



30 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

For He to be a Savior came. 

That night the shepherds heard a song 

Of praises by the angel throng — 

"To Grod be highest glory given; 

On earth be peace, good will from Heaven. 

Afar, afar their voices rise, 

To find a welcome in the skies; 

As floats the melody away. 

The morning star leads up the day. 

The shepherds found, as angels said. 

The Babe in lowly manger laid, 

In swaddling bands; and there adored, 

Devout, their long expected Lord. 



XXXIX. 

PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. 

Luke ii: 22. 

Glad Mary, after forty days. 

Her visit to the temple pays. 

With Child and mother, there they bring 

Two turtle doves — her offering. 

With these she meets the law's demand. 

Where priest and altar v/aiting stand, 

Long there has aged Simeon 

Been waiting for the "Promised One," 

Whose speedy coming long concealed, 

To him the Spirit had revealed. 

As they ascend the sacred place, 

He sees with joy the young Child's face; 

And in his arms he gently takes 

Him, and with deep emotion speaks. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 31 

XL. 

SIMEON'S PROPHECY. 

"Now lettest Thou Thy servant, Lord, 

Depart in peace— fulfilled Thy word; 

For Thy salvation I have seen, 

In this long promised Gift to men." 

The seer has come into the border land, 

Where shadows fall of great events at hand. 

His words, prophetic, clear, fortell 

The rise and fall in Israel, 

Of many, by this Child Divine: 

To Him shall many hearts incline. 

Nor may His words foreboding spare 

The wistful mother, passing fair — 

Her, whom already days of grief 

Have marked, "Mary, Mother of Grief." 

"A sword shall thine own heart pierce through 

And sorrow thy wan cheek bedew." 

xli. 
THE PROPHETESS ANNA. 

Luke ii. 

Phanuel's daughter Anna, she 
Whose life spans near a century, 
The prophetess who hopeful waits 
His coming to the temple gates, 
With holy impulse testifies, 
"In this Child our salvation lies." 
And oft with zeal she speaks of him 
To dwellers in Jerusalem. 

•"Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore 
2nd coming events cast their shadows^ b^fom^ ^^^^^ 



32 THi land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XLII. 

VISIT OF THE MAGI. 

Matt, ii: 1; Micah v: 2. 
To Bethlehem, led by His star, 
Came wise men, from the East afar; 
Rich treasures in their train they bore — 
iFrankincense, myrrh, and golden store, 
And laid them at the young Child's feet, 
And lowly bowed, in worship meet. 
They sought Him in Jerusalem, 
But Micah's words directed them — 
The prophet who, in days of old, 
His coming, and the place, foretold. 

xliii. 
FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 

The stars shone through the shades of night 

On Child and mother, in their flight 

To Egypt, when their weary way, 

With Joseph, through the desert lay; 

This Joseph, kingly his descent. 

Who shared with them their banishment, 

Was foster father to the Child 

Now borne, by night, through desert wild. 

An angel of the Lord of Heaven 

To him, by night, had warning given — 

That Herod feared the guileless boy, 

And sought the young Child to destroy; 

And Bethlehem bewailed in vain 

Her little ones by Herod slain. 

XLIV. 

MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS. 

Rude soldiers dash the children on the ground. 
And piercing cries and futile prayers resound. 
The wail of Rachel, weeping sore, 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 33 

The prophet heard, long years before, 
In mourning for her children dead. 
Refusing to be comforted. 
So early hate, and plot began 
Against the Christ, the Friend of man. 
The land whose ruler sought to slay 
The Hebrew babes in iMoses' day, 
Gives Jesus shelter from the fate 
Devised for Him by Herod's hate. 

XLV. 
IN NAZARETH. 

Matt. 11: 3; Luke iii. 
Far was their journey to the north. 
At iHerod's death, when going forth, 
They came to Nazareth to dwell, 
Till He was shown to Israel. 
To guardians obedient, 
His youthful years serene He spent, 
iBy Joseph's side; with saw and plane, 
A toiler's task did not disdain. 
He learned His nation's history 
In childhood at His mother's knee. 
From hills that Nazareth surround 
His vision sought the world's far bound — 
The nearby, wide, wide, western sea; 
And eastern lands of mystery: 
His thoughts with deep foreboding ran 
On all the tragic life of man. 

XLVI. 
IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE. 

Luke iii: 15-30. 
He sought the place of public prayer 
And read the Law and Prophets there; 
Where traders made profane resorts; 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

The nation's temple, Jesus bows; 
He questions learned teachers, there. 
With youthful zest and thoughtful air; 
His spirit, and His answers wise. 
Fill all beholders with surprise. 

XLVII. 

HIS FATHER'S WORK. 

When homeward moves the household train, 

He lingers in the sacred fane. 

"Why hast Thou dealt so with us. Son?" 

Says Mary, chiding in her tone — 

"We sought Thee, sorrowing, three days." 

But He replies with filial grace: 

"How is it that ye sought for Me? 

And wist ye not that I must be 

About my Father's business?" Still, 

Obedient to parental will, 

In Joseph's work He bears a part, 

(All this is writ in Mary's heart.) 

In stature and in wisdom grows 

Of God, and man the favor knows. 

XLVIII. 

A VOICE FROM THE DESERT. 

Matt, iii; Mark i. 
Mid northern hills, obscure, unknown, 
To man's estate has Jesus grown. 
"A Voice," in Judah's wilderness, 
Has called the nation to confess 
Their sins, repent, and learn 
Messiah's coming to discern. 
With waiting wearied — hope deferred, 
The people wondered, as they heard — 
"Was this Elijah, sent again. 
Rebuking kings and warning men?" 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 



JESUS AND THE BAPTIZER. 

Matt, iii: 13; Luke iii: 21. 
Unstained by sin, naught to repent, 
To (His life mission Jesus went. 
Four days He journeyed, where His way 
Along the winding Jordan lay, 
Till at Bethabara He stood, 
Before the Messenger of God — 
The messenger, sent to declare 
His coming, and the way prepare. 



35 



36 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

L. 
THE DESERT PROPHET. 

OF priestly birth, of courage rare, 
In vestments clothed, of camel's hair, 
The while a leather girdle, round 
His loins, secure his mantle bound. 
On locusts and wild honey fed. 
As one in desert places bred; 
With unshorn beard, and searching eyes 
That drew their strange light from the skies; 
John linked old covenant and new. 
And to the Jordan thousands drew, 
Baptizing all who came to hear. 
And yield themselves with heart sincere. 
But, when he saw his iLord draw near — 
"I've need to be baptized of Thee," 
He said. "And comest Thou to me?" 
"It doth become us" — Jesus says — 
"Thus to fulfill all righteousness; 
Then suffer it to be so now," 
And John must needs his Lord allow. 

LI. 

HIS BAPTISM. 
Mark i: 9. 

Endersheim: Life and Times of The Messiah. Book 2, Chap. xii. 
Geikel: Life of Christ. Chap. xxv. 
The parting waters, like a grave. 
Received His form; then back they gave 
Him — consecrate to die for men, — 
In emblem buried, raised again. 
He bowed in prayer, by Jordan's side — 
When, lo! the heavens opened wide; 
The Holy Spirit, like a dove, 




Si 

hi P 



THE LAND ; tTS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 37 

Appeared descending from above, 

And rested on Him — from that hour 

Abiding with Him evermore. 

Then spoke the Father from His throne — 

"This is my well beloved Son." 



TEMPTED OF THE DEVIL. 

Mat. iv: 1-11; Mark i: 12. 
Luke ii: 1-14. 

The Spirit sent henceforth to bless 
Now drives Him to the wilderness. 
He meets, in Judah's desert lone, 
And overcomes the wicked One. 
He waits before iHis Father's face 
In solemn fast for forty days; 
The wild beast, seeing Jesus there, 
Goes, peaceful, to his bloody lair. 

By hunger weak, from fasting long, 
He met the foe, with spirit strong. 
The Wiley tempter came and said — 
"Command that these stones be made bread. 
Art Thou the Son of God indeed? 
Command, and satisfy Thy need." 

But Jesus answered: "It is shown — 
In sacred writing is set down — 
Man shall not live by bread alone, 
But by the Word of God made known." 
Threefold assault the devil made; 
And thrice was bruised the serpent's head. 
His triumph waiting angels see. 
And joyful bring their ministry. 



38 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

LIII. 
FIRST DISCIPLES. 

John i: 19-35. 
.Returning from the wilderness 
In all the Spirit's power and grace, 
His first disciples, taught by John, 
Hail Him as David's promised Son. 
These — Andrew, Simon, Philip, John — 
Behold His ministry begun, 
And Philip called Nathaniel — 
The guileless iSon of Israel. 

LIV. 

MARRIAGE AT CANA. 

John ii: 1-11. 
With them at Cana, as a guest. 
Where lack would shame the marriage feast, 
He mingles in their social joys, 
And, barkening to His mother's voice. 
He turns the water into wine, 
And seals His mission as divine; 
He blesses with His presence there 
The union of the wedded pair. 

LV. 

CLEANSES THE TEMPLE. 

John ii: 13-26. 
His heart consumed with holy zeal, 
He journeys to the sacred hill; 
The money changers turn and flee 
When Jesus, scourge in hand, they see; 
As they in wild confusion go, 
He has no need to strike a blow. 
He cleansed polluted temple courts. 
Where traders made profane resorts: 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 39 

LVI. 

NIGHT SCENE WITH NICODEMUS. 

John iii: 1-21. 

By night, to Nicodemus showed, 
What grace the Father hath bestowed — 
That "God so loved the world He gave 
His only Son the lost to save, 
That whosoeer on Him believes 
Ry Him eternal life receives." 

And warning words He uttered then — 

"Take heed! Ye must be born again — 

Born from above, nor else can ye 

God's everlasting kingdom see" — 

By water and the iSpirit given 

A birthright with the saved in Heaven. 

As softly blows the evening breeze, 

That whispers to the yielding trees, 

Ye hear the sound, and no one knows 

Or whence it comes, or whither goes; 

So does the Spirit life impart. 

And new create the earthborn heart. 

As Moses, in the wilderness, 

The brazen serpent high did raise, 

So must the Son uplifted be 

To give to faith sin's remedy. 

LVII. 

TEACHES AND BAPTIZES. 

John iii: 22-42. 

Awhile apart, near Judah's bound, 
His voice is heard — a welcome sound, 
To hearts by patient waiting tried 
For One to come long prophesied. 



40 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Awhile, apart, in field and grove, 
He told them of the Father's love, 
Proclaimed the Gospel message clear — 
"The kingdom of your God is here." 

And there by fountain, pool and brook, 
On sunny slope, in shaded nook, 
The hearers, gladened by the Light, 
'Confessed in the baptismal rite. 
His early called disciples here 
The sacred rite administer. 

LVIII. 

AT JACOB'S WELL. 

John iv: 43. 
He sat by Jacob's well and taught 
That He Messiah's message brought; 
That He the Living Water bore, 
That one who drinks shall thirst no more: 
That God is Spirit — temple dim 
Man need not seek to worship Him. 
And she who heard Him, by the well, 
Made haste "the prophet's" word to tell; 
Her story, told in simple word. 
Brought many out to seek the Lord. 

LIX. 

NOBLEMAN'S SON HEALED. 

John iv: 46. 
In iCana, where "the blushing wine" 
Became His first prophetic sign, 
Beseeching, came a nobleman — 
"Come heal my fever stricken son." 



'The conscious water saw its God and blushed." 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 41 

Two days — his home Capernaum — 
The father, for relief, had come; 
A plea of need his only cry — 
"O Sir, come down, ere my child die." 
And Jesus answered, "Go thy way; 
Thy son doth live." And from that day 
And hour they saw the son revived. 
And he, and all his house, believed. 



LX. 
JESUS LEAVES NAZARETH. 

John li: 12. 

From Nazareth, of doubtful fame, 
Down to Capernaum He came; 
With Mary and His brethren, He 
"Not many days" dwelt by the sea. 

LXI. 
AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA. 

John ii: 17. 

Again He goes up to the temple, there 
The nation's sacred festival to share. 
Beside Bethesda's pool and sickly throng 
A palsied man has lain and lingered long — 
Has lingered long, with no friend near, 
With kindly word and needed help to cheer; 
For him of all the anxious waiting train 
'The healing waters are disturbed in vain. 
'Twas said an angel came and stirred the pool, 
And he who entered first was there made whole, 
Oft as the waters healing virtues show. 
He sees another in before him go, 



43 THE land; its lord and sacked lore. 

"Wilt thou?" the Master questions, "be made whole?' 
(So often speaks He to a troubled soul.) 
Despairing is the sufferer's reply — 
"No one to help me, ,Sir, have I." 

"Arise, take up thy bed and walk," Christ said. 
And straightway, leaping up, the man obeyed — 
Took up his couch and joyful went his way. 
Because all this was on their Sabbath day, 
The Jews, conspiring, sought the Lord to slay. 

LXII. 

JOHN IMPRISONED. 

Matt, iv: 12; Mark i: 14; I Kings xix. 

The second Herod seized upon 
The desert prophet, faithful John — 
That John who like Elijah came. 
In spirit and in power the same. 
iMacherus' walls frown gloomily 
iFrom cliffs above the bitter sea; 
A palace and a jail combined, 
There reveled king with wanton joined, 
While John in darkened prison pined. 

When Ahab ruled in Israel, 
Elijah fled from Jezebel; 
Now Herod sat upon the throne — 
Herodias would murder John. 
The tripping of the dancer's feet 
Has toppled Justice from her seat. 
No more are heard the herald calls. 
Now stifled by deep dungeon walls. 
Quenched is the "burning shining light" 
That shone on Judah's troubled night: 
Stilled is the voice sent to make known 
The coming of the Promised One. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 43 

LXIII. 

PREACHES AND TEACHES. 

John vii: 1. 

Now Jesus walked in Gallilee — 
Closed His Judean ministry. 
His call resounded through the land — 
"Repent — ^God's kingdom is at hand!" 
And, day by day, drawn by His fame. 
With longing hearts, the people came; 
For. bowed beneath the Roman sway. 
Their hope in a Great Leader lay. 

LXIV. 

AT CAPERNAUM. 

Luke v: 11. 

At Nazareth rejected, spurned, 

His footsteps to the seaside turned; 

An exile from His early home. 

He tarries at Capernaum. 

The people gathered on the strand, 

Where Simon's boat lay near the land. 

LXV. 

FIRST SERMON BY THE SEA. 

Luke v: 1-4. 

The night had passed in fruitless toil; 
The sea refused its wonted spoil: 
The idle boat the Teacher bore. 
The hearers gathered on the shore, 
Intent to hear His words, but more 
Intent to know His healing power. 
He told them of His reign of grace. 
His kingdom and its righteousness. 



44 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

LXVI. 

FISHES CAUGHT AND MEN CALLED. 

Matt, iv; Luke v. 

Now, when the teaching hours were past 
At His command the nets were cast; 
The day in worship well begun, 
Before the setting of the sun 
Is crowned with bountiful increase, 
Drawn from the treasures of the seas. 
As Peter and his brethren reach, 
With teeming nets, the solid beach. 
Now, "iFollow Me," iHe said again, 
"I will make you fishers of men." 
iForsaking all for Him alone, 
Went Andrew, iSimon, James and John. 

LXVII. 
A DAY OF WONDERS. 

Matt, iv: 18-22; Luke iv. 

In synagogue He now appears. 
In answer to the hope of years. 
An unclean spirit cried aloud. 
And fain had Christ as Lord avowed. 
But Jesus bids him "Hold thy peace 
And leave the man; thy raving cease." 
The demon heard, released the man. 
And far the fame of Jesus ran. 

In Peter's house the mother lay — 

Hot fever burning life away; 

Christ raised her from her bed of pain, 

And health and strength came back again. 

And, rising, she went joyously, 

To serve in household ministry. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 45 

That Sabbath, when the sun was set, 

They gathered in the public street 

And laid their sick ones at His feet; 

And at His healing touch and word 

These rose and walked, to health restored. 

His touch could cleanse foul leprosy; 

Could cause the helpless blind to see; 

His word could cause the lame to walk. 

The deaf to hear, the dumb to talk; 

The paralytic felt again 

The throb of life in every vein; 

While gracious words of sins forgiven 

Gave peace of mind and hope of Heaven. 

Departing to a desert place. 

All night, alone with God He prays. 

LXVIII. 

TEACHING TOUR OF VILLAGES. 

Mark iii: 19; Luke viii: 5, 

He taught in all their villages. 

And healed their many maladies. 

Fulfilling ancient prophecies 

That He "should bear their sicknesses." 



LXIX. 

WIDOW'S SON RAISED. 

Luke vii. 

When men bore from his mother's home 
Her only son, robed for the tomb, 
He came and stood and touched the bier- 
"Young man, arise," He said, and here 
The widow at the gate of Nain 
Receives her dead, alive again. 



46 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

LXX. 

CHRIST FORGIVES SINS. 

Mark viii. 
When wayworn, weary, Christ has come 
To shelter of a friendly home. 
Soon crowds, impetuous, fill the room; 
A sick man, palsied, borne of four. 
Is brought where throngs obstruct the door. 

To give their earnest faith a proof, 
They raise him to the lowly roof; 
They break the roof and gently lower 
Their burden to the cottage floor. 
And Jesus, seeing their great faith — 
"Forgiven are thy sins," He saith. 
The Pharisees His power disown — 
Exclaim, in muttered undertone, 
"Who can forgive but God alone?" 

LXXI. 

MOCKERS REBUKED. 

Their covert malice Jesus sees. 
And thus rebukes his enemies: 
"Or easier is it to say. 
Forgiven are thy sins today. 
Or, Rise and bear thy bed away"? 

"But that yourselves the truth may know, 
What power forgiveness to bestrow, 
The Son of Man hath here below" — 
He, turning to the palsied, said, 
"Arise, and carry forth thy bed." 

And lo! straightway the man arose, 
And went forth as an athlete goes; 
The people joyfully applaud. 
And glorify the Lord their Ood. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 47 

LXXII. 

TWELVE APOSTLES CALLED. 

Matt, x; Mark v; Luke ix. 
Arising long before the dawn 
He went away and prayed alone, 
And when the morn its light displayed 
"All men are seeking Thee"— they said. 
They thronged Him in their villages, 
For healing of their maladies. 
Such grace and virtue Jesus had 
That demons from His presence fled: 
While little children at His knee 
Heard words of kindly sympathy— 

"Forbid them not to come to Me 

Of such shall God's own Kingdom be"; 

The babes their mothers brought He blest, 

And gently in His arms caressed. 

He opened oracles of old 

Their deeper meaning to unfold; 

Twelve men "apostles" he enrolled 

That they should go as witnesses 

Of all His words and works of grace. 

First Andrew, Simon's brother, came, 
Then Simon— Peter now his name, 
And James and John— when first enrolled 
By Jesus "Sons of Thunder," called; 
These two were sons of Zebedee, 
The four dwelt by Lake Gallilee. 
And Philip and Bartholomew, 
And Thomas, questioning but true. 

And Matthew, once as Levi known, 

And James of Alpheus the Son; 

Thaddeus too, best known as Jude, 

And Simon zealous for all good; 

Last Judas, in an evil day. 

His Worthy Leader to betray. 



48 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

LXXIII. 
SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Matt. V, vi, vii. 

nIS sermon on the mountain side 
Now stirred the nation far and wide. 
There, drawn about the Teacher's seat, 
Were gathered thousands at His feet, 
To hear what blessings are bestowed 
On him who walks the narrow road — 
"The poor in spirit" — they are given 
The Kingdom glorious of heaven; 
And they that mourn; the Savior said 
"The mourners shall be comforted." 
"The meek" — men deem of little worth — 
Have for inheritance the earth: 
"Who hunger, thirst, for righteousness 
They shall be filled," the Teacher says. 
The merciful obtain mercy; 
The pure in heart their God shall see. 
The peacemakers, God's children are — 
Shall never lack the Father's care. 
And they whom wicked men distress. 
Because they stand for righteousness. 
In His own kingdom God will bless: 
And all who shall revilings take — 
False evil speech for Jesus' sake, 
"Salt of the earth," Christ said, "are ye." 
"If salt becomes unsavory. 
Men cast it out as worthless, when 
'Tis trodden under foot of men." 
Light of the world ye are; so then 
"Let your light shine before all men: 
They, seeing your good works, thereby, 
Your heavenly Father glorify." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 49 

LXXIV. 

LAW AND PROPHETS. 

Think not the law or prophets, I 
Am come among you to destroy. 
Not to destroy I come, but will 
The prophets and the law fulfill; 
Nor shall one word or letter be 
Made void of law or prophesy. 

LXXV. 

THE LAW INTERPRETED. 

The righteousness of Pharisees 
Will not suffice your Lord to please: 
His eyes behold adulteries. 
In evil thoughts, and lustful eyes: 
In causeless anger murder lies. 
And condemnation waits on each 
Hard, railing word, and bitter speech. 

Ye who your filial claim would prove. 
To God, your Father, throned above, 
Hate not your enemies, but love. 
On them bestow your care in need. 
If naked, clothe; if hungry, feed. 
So shall ye be God's sons indeed. 

Upon the evil and the good, 

Your Father makes His sun to shine; 

On just and unjust has bestowed 

The early and the latter rain. 

Be perfect, therefore, so as ye 

Your heavenly Father know to be. 

LXXVI. 

CONCERNING PRAYER. 

When thou wouldst pray, thy chamber enter; there 
Shut to thy door and offer up thy prayer; 



50 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

And that thy Father sees in secret know; 
And openly, He will reward bestow. 

Use not vain repetitions when ye pray, 
As do the heathen, for they think that they 
Shall be for their much speaking better heard, 
When bringing their petitions to their lord. 
What things ye need your Father knoweth well 
Before ye ask, or your desires can tell. 

lxxvii. 
THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

Matt, vi; Luke ii: 2. 

Therefore, when ye would seek your Father's care, 

Be ever this the manner of your prayer: 

Our Father, who in Heaven dost hear. 

Thy name be hallowed here as there; 

Thy kingdom come; on earth Thy holy will 

Be done as all above, Thy law fulfill. 

Give us this day our needed daily bread, 

That body, soul and spirit may be fed; 

As we forgive our debtors, so may we 

For all our debts forgiveness find with Thee. 

From all temptation be Thou our defense. 

And from all evil, Lord, grant us deliverance. 

The kingdom, and all power divine. 

And glory. Lord, be ever Thine. 

lxxviii, 
HAVE TRUST IN GOD. 

Let not tomorrow vex today 
With anxious care for needed bread. 
Behold the flitting birds — how they 
Are by your Father's bounty fed. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 51 

For raiment why take anxious care? 

Or say, perplexed, "What shall we wear?" 

Consider how the lilies grow; 

What grace, what hues, their form pervade. 

In all his glory Solomon 

Was not like one of these arrayed. 

Consider, till this day has flown. 
The morrow's evil all its own. 
Wherefore if God so clothe the flower. 
That for but a day flourisheth. 
Shall not your Father much the more 
Clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

Seek first the kingdom of your God — 
His kingdom and its righteousness. 
And all these things by Him bestowed, 
The pathway of your life shall bless. 



LXXIX. 

VARIOUS PRECEPTS. 

Swear not at all — an evil way, — 
Let all your speech be "Yea" and "Nay. 
If thy right eye or thy right hand — 
If these shall make thee to offend — 
Cut off the hand, pluck out the eye. 
That would thy hope of life destroy 
If thou refuse such surgery. 
Far better is it thou shouldst go 
Maimed into life, than dwell below. 
In burnings of the world of woe. 



62 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

LXXX. 

JUDGE NOT. 

Judge not thy brother even in thy thought, 
Lest thou thyself be into judgment brought. 
What measure thou dost meet shall be 
The measure surely meeted out to thee. 
The beam from thine own eye remove, 
Ere thou thy brother's faults reprove. 
Give not thine alms before the eyes of men, 
With trumpet sound, their vain applause to gain: 
In secret do thy works of righteousness — 
Your Father sees, and openly will bless. 

LXXXI. 

THE GOLDEN RULE. 

And ye in all things unto others do 
As ye yourselves would have them do to you. 
Herein is all the word of old complete. 
Herein the law and all the phophets meet. 
Do not thou let thy left hand know 
What alms thy right hand doth bestow. 

Give not your holy things to dogs unclean; 
Nor cast your goodly pearls to swine obscene. 
Lest, trampling under feet your jewels rare. 
They turn on you again, and rend and tear. 

LXXXII, 

THE BROAD AND NARROW WAYS. 

Wide is the gate, the way to death is broad, 
And there go many in that downward road; 
Because the way that leads to life is straight. 
And only entered by a narrow gate. 
With earnest striving seek that ye may gain 
An entrance here, where many seek in vain. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 53 

LXXXIII. 

WISE AND FOOLISH HEARERS. 

Matt, vii: 24. 

With many added precepts He 
Taught men as with authority — 
"Who hears My precepts and obeys 
Is like a wise man, who would raise 
His house, deep founded on a rock, 
Secure against the tempest shock. 
The rains descended, and the wind 
With angry floods its force combined ; 
Against that house in vain they beat — 
Built on a rock, a safe retreat. 

"Who hears My sayings to refuse. 

Is like a foolish man would choose 

To build his house upon the sand, 

That could not storms and floods withstand. 

The rain descended, wild winds blew. 

Floods came, and into torrents grew 

And beat upon that house until 

With a great fall the fabric fell." 

lxxxiv. 
LEPER CLEANSED. 

Matt, viii: 2. 
He left the mountain for the plain. 
And tnousands followed in His train. 
A leper, falling on his knees. 
Craves cleansing from his foul disease, 
Wth healing touch and gracious mien. 
He says, "I will, and be thou clean." 
Straightway the man arose and stood. 
His flesh renewed and cleansed his bood. 



54 THE land; its lord and sacred lore, 

LXXXV. 

SEASIDE PARABLES. 

Matt, xiii; Luke xii. 

NOW on the shore the thousands stood — 
An eager, thronging multitude. 
There, on the quiet sea, afloat, 
His pulpit was a fisher's boat; 
"The Word of God" His lofty theme, 
The psalmist's and the prophets' dream. 

That day by many parables he taught — 
Surrounding scenes suggesting higher thought, 
Truths of His Father's kingdom, and His own, 
By daily life in house and field were shown; 
He would His hearers' heart and conscience reach 
By simple word and phrase of common speech. 

As mustard seed becomes a tree, 
The kingdom in its growth shall be; 
Or, as men see the grain appear — 
"The blade, the stalk, and the full ear." 
The merchantman sells all and buys 
The goodly pearl at costly price; 
Another straightway buys the field. 
Where precious treasure is concealed. 

LXXXVI. 

THE SOWER. 

The sower, going forth to sow, 
Grood seed on every side will strow. 
Some seed falls by the wayside, where 
The fowls quick seize it for their fare. 
So Satan comes, with cunning art, 
And steals God's message from the heart. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 55 

When seed among the thorns is thrown, 

Thorns choke the plant ere it be grown; 

Oft when the gospel call is heard, 

These taorns spring up and choke the word; — 

Deceitful riches, lust of gain, 

Cares of this life destroy the grain. 

Seed sown on hard and stony soil 
Will not reward the tiller's toil; 
Sprung up in haste, it withers soon, 
Before the scorching heat of noon. 
Men will with joy the Word receive, 
And willingly the Truth believe; 
But burnng persecutions rise. 
And all their faith within them dies. 

Where "good and honest hearts receive 
And keep the word, the seed will thrive 
And garner, when the tale is told, 
A thirty to a hundred fold." 

LXXXVII. 

TWO CLASSES IN JUDGMENT. 

As men draw fishes from the main, 
The bad reject, the good retain, 
So angels, in the judgment day. 
The wicked turn to doom away. 

LXXXVIII. 

TARES AND WHEAT. 

The tares and wheat together grow 
Till harvest time, when reapers go 
And reap and bind the tares to burn — 
The wheat into the garner turn. 



56 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

So, when the present age shall end, 

The angel reapers will descend 

And gather all things that offend 

And oast them down where flames destroy; 

The righteous shall shine forth on high. 

As shines the sun in midday sky. 

LXXXIX. 

STILLS THE TEMPEST. 

Matt, viii; Mark iv; Luke viii. 

The lessons of the day are o'er, 
They launch out for the farther shora 
Night falls, and with the night a storm; 
The sailors cry out with alarm. 
The waters their frail craft invade; 
In terror they implore His aid: 
Complaint is mingled with their prayer — 
"We perish, Master — dost not care?" 
They wake Him from His quiet sleep, 
And He rebukes the raging deep. 
The wind and waves obey His will 
When He commands them, "Peace, be still. 
"What man is this," the sailors say, 
"Whom even wind and sea obey?" 

xc. 

DEMONIAC OVERCOME. 

The morning dawns, the voyage o'er, 
They land upon Gerasa shore; 
Forth, howling, from his foul abode 
Among the tombs, a maniac strode; 
Distraught, and naked, night and day, 
So fierce no one might pass that way; 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 57 

No iron chain or brass refined 
The demon man could safely bind, 
For oft in fetters bound had he 
The fetters broke and gone forth free. 
He haunts the gruesome caves at night; 
His wailings all the land affright; 
He cuts himself with knives and stones, 
And rivals the hyena's groans — 
Hyena's howls, that nightly raves 
With horrid laugh among the graves. 
"A legion" holds the man in thrall, 
His shrieks the passersby appall; 
But when the Son of God he sees, 
He falls in terror on his knees, 

xci. 
DEMONS' PRAYER HEARD. 

Matt, viii; Mark v; Luke viii. 

Unwilling to release their prey, 
They cry to Jesus for delay: 
"Thou Son of Grod, torment us not 
Before the time Thou didst allot; 
Nor cast us down to the abyss — 
Abode of beings in distress." 

Along the hills and uplands green 
A herd of feeding swine is seen. 
Their fate the demons quick discern 
In Jesus' manner, grave and stern. 
They pray permission of the Lord 
To go into the unclean herd. 

And He said, "GrO." And as He said 
The word, into the swine they fled. 
The herd ran madly down the steep, 
And perished, drowning in the deep. 



58 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XCII. 

The man, now clothed m his right mind. 
At Jesus' feet in peace reclined: 
But Jesus said, "Go, tell thy friends 
What mercy God to thee extends," 
Straightway for Christ he witnesses 
In cities of Decapolis. 
Rejected by swine loving men, 
Christ turns to Gallilee again. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 59 

XCIII. 

A MOTLEY CROWD. 

THE people all are wating for Him here. 
And with glad welcome His homecoming cheer; 
For only yesterday they heard Him teach 
And wondered at His grace of work and speech. 
By miany tongues His presence noised abroad, 
The needy go to Him by every path and road. 
With sightless eyes these grope their darkened way; 
Those halting come, to chronic plagues a prey; 
And others, helpless, borne on couches are; 
And all the idly curious are there. 
With longing looks the lepers stand afar. 
And cry "Unclean" — Hope striving with despair. 

xciv. 

Here little groups that mourn for Judah bound. 
Confer, "Have we in Him the Leader found? — 
Messiah, promised long to come and dwell 
Among us and deliver Israel?" 

And spies look on, sent from Jerusalem 
To aid the rulers in accusing Him — 
Alert to charge false teachings, evil deed — 
Already in their hearts His death decreed. 

With measured step appear the Pharisees, 
In broidered robes, and broad phylacteries; 
The self appointed guardians are they 
Of all the rules tradition says obey. 
These watch with every growing jealousy 

The wonder working man of Gallilee: 

And, self complacent, view unmoved the scene 

Pathetic of the "common and unclean." 



60 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

xcv. 
THE HEALING TOUCH OF FAITH. 

Mat. ix; Mark v; Luke viii. 
Where all their wants upon the Master pressed, 
A feeble woman sought Him, sore distressed; 
Twelve weary years, forlorn and sad, has she 
Been bowed by grievous inward malady; 
For drugs, and doctors, all her living paid, — 
Nor drugs nor doctors the disease allayed. 

But now had come the Healer to that shore, 
And hope within her heart revived once more. 
She mused, "This Rabbi's healing power is such, 
If but the border of His robe I touch, 
A healing current will flow out to me 
And cleanse me from this dire infirmity." 

Behind Him, in the crowd, she timid came; 

Put forth her hand and touched His garment hem : 

At once she knew the plague within subdued. 

And all the currents of her life renewed. 

And, knowing all, "Who touched Me?" Jesus says. 

The woman, trembling, hastens to confess 

Her touch. His cure, before all witnesses; 

And He, with ever ready graciousness. 

Commends her faith, and bids her "Go in peace." 

In Jesus all the manly graces blend — 

Redeemer, Healer, Teacher, Guide and Friend. 

xcvi. 
JAIRUS' DAUGHTER RAISED. 

Mat. ix; Mark v; Luke viii. 

The household joy, the blithe and winsome maid. 
Is brought, and in the darkened chamber laid. 
And notes of wailing voices fill the air. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 61 

That Death, remorseless, claimed a child so fair. 
Within that chamber Jesus, bidden, stands, 
Takes in His own the cold and lifeless hands; 
The father and the mother, weeping, gaze. 
Expectant, on the placid, palid face. 
The chosen three, attending on their Lord, 
Await the Master's life compelling word. 
He speaks: "Talithi cumi, maid, arise," 
And straightway Life unseals her lustrous eyes. 
The maiden wakens from her dreamless sleep, 
Sits up surprised, beholding those that weep. 
He speaks again His work divine complete — 
Commands that they provide that she may eat; 
And where was heard the mourner's doleful cry 
Resou^d the notes of chastened, tearful joy, 
That gladness follows sorrow's bitter hour. 
That death is vanquished by the Savior's power. 
That He has opened outward wide this day 
The gate that captive held the monster's prey. 



XCVII. 
PALSIED HAND HEALED. 

Matt, x; Mark iii. 

As wont, upon the Sabbath day, 
To synagogue He leads the way. 
Behold a man with withered hand — 
"Forth in the midst," Christ bids him stand; 
And now— "Stretch forth thy hand," He said. 
And healing came as he obeyed. 
With blinded eyes and hardened heart, 
The scowling leaders stand apart. 



62 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

XCVIII. 

PHARISEES CAVIL. 

The Pharisees with envy cry: 

"Beelzebub is His ally; 

By him He makes the demons flee — 

In tnis the works of darkness see." 

His answer is a stern demand, 

"How, then, can Satan's kingdom stand' 

If he against himself contend. 

Then Satan's kingdom hath an end." 

xcix, 
THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 

Matt, xii; Mark iii: 28. 

"So great the mercy shown of Heaven, 
All sins of men shall be forgiven 
But sin against the Holy Ghost. 
This sin marks one forever lost; 
Nor ended in this world his doom, 
Nor ended in the world to come." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

c. 
THE WOMAN AND THE PHARISEE 

Luke vii: 36. 
■HE publicans and sinners heard 



63 



T 



With trembling- joy, His gracious word. 
One day, when Jesus sat at meat, 
A woman came and washed His feet 
With contrite tears — her sins were great; 
And Jesus was compassionate. 
Forgiven much, great was the love 
The penitent had come to prove. 
Her flowing tresses she applied 
Until the sacred feet were dried; 
Pressed kisses on the weary feet,— 
So meekly pardon would entreat; 
And costly ointment on them poured— 
A grateful tribute to the Lord. 
Within him said the pharisee, 
"This man cannot a prophet be; 
A prophet would have straightway seen 
Her touch is touch of the unclean." 
His thought the Master quick discerned. 
And eyes of pity on him turned. 
"Somewhat I have to say to thee." 
"Speak, Rabbi," said the pharisee. 

"Two servants, hopeless, owed their lord, 
Who free forgiveness did accord. 
A hundred pence the one confessed; 
The other owned five hundred, just. 
With both forgiven, which will prove 
The most their gracious lord to love?" 
"This, I suppose," replied His host — 
"The one whom he forgave the most.' 



64 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

"And thou hast rightly judged," replies 
The Lord. "Herein the meaning lies: 
No water for my feet you brought; 
No kiss you gave with friendly thought. 
With tears this woman bathed my feet, 
And kissed them, for her love was great; 
So great her love, who thus has striven. 
Her many sins are all forgiven. 
"Daughter," He said, with kindliness, 
"Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. 



CI. 

JOHN'S MESSAGE TO JESUS. 

Luke vii: 18. 

To John, in Herod's prison, rumor came 
That rulers all rejected Jesus' claim. 
John, calling two disciples, bade them, "GrO, 
Inquire of Jesus — tell Him John would know — 
'Art thou He that should come, as we believe. 
Or look we yet another to receive?'" 

And Jesus answered them, "Go and show John 
What things, before your eyes, are shown — 
The lepers cleansed, the blind their sight receive, 
The deaf are made to hear, the dead to live. 
And here are made to walk the halt and maimed. 
And to the poor glad tidings are proclaimed. 
And tell John, blessed every one shall be 
Who shall not find cause of offense in me." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CII. 

THE WOMAN'S LOST COIN. 

Luke XV. 

SIMILITUDES, in His discourse, 
And parables, the truth enforce; — 
With candle, and with urgent broom, 
A woman lights, and sweeps the room, 
Until the wayward coin is found. 
Then tells her joy to all around. 

cm. 
THE LOST SHEEP. 

Luke XV. 
The shepherd goes and seeks the lost 
By desert waste and mountains crossed; 
Secure the ninety and the nine, 
"The lamb astray," he says, "is mine." 
Unheeding darkness, storm and cold, 
With joy he brings it to the fold. 
So angels 'round the throne rejoice 
At one repentant sinner's voice. 

CIV. 
THE PRODIGAL SON. 

Luke XV. 
The prodigal has wandered far 
To alien lands; has wasted there 
His father's bounty, till, in need. 
He fain on husks with swine would feed. 
By hunger pressed, where prone he lies. 
Ashamed he says, "I will arise 
And go unto my father, where 
His servants eat, with bread to spare; 
Repentant will my sins confess 
And only ask a servant's place." 



65 



66 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

The father's ever watchful love 
Discerns him while a great way off; 
Compassionate, with willing feet, 
He runs the erring son to greet. 
Scarce has the son his sins confessed 
When, all the father's love expressed, 
The kiss, the ring, the robe, the feast, 
The shoes, his welcome home attest; 
Notes from the banquet hall resound — 
"The dead alive, the lost is found." 



cv. 
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT JESUS TAUGHT. 

The righteousness Christ taught began 
In love to God and love to man — 
A righteousness born from within; 
Not pious words and secret sin, 
Not formal rites and hearts unclean, 
Not prayers and alms in public seen. 
All outward washings are in vain 
To cleanse the man from inward stain. 

cvi. 
DIVES AND LAZARUS. 

Luke xvi: 19. 
Rich Dives lived in lordly state. 
In purple and fine linen sat; 
Fared sumptuously every day, 
While Lazarus, unheeded, lay. 
Diseased, in rags, before his gate, 
And in his misery he ate 
Crumbs fallen from the rich man's plate. 
Moreover, dogs came from the street 
And licked his sores — his hands and feet. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 67 

Poor Lazarus, life's trials o'er, 

To Paradise the angels bore. 

Rich Dives, all life's pleasures spent, 

Sank to his place of banishment — 

Hell's dark domain, where flames torment. 

And seeing Lazarus afar, 

In Abraham's consoling care. 

He cries to Abraham in vain — 

"Send Lazarus to soothe my pain; 

One drop of water let him bring, 

For in this flame I'm suffering." 

Swift fell on him the answering voice: 
"Remember, son, thou hadst thy choice 
In thy life time of earthly joys. 
While Lazarus had evil things, — 
Such are the changes Justice brings. 
In comfort he, in torment thou. 
Have your appointed places now. 
Besides, there is a gulf that lies, 
Dividing Hell from Paradise. 
No one that deep, dark gulf can cross, 
From us to you, from you to us." 

And Dives, moaning in his pain. 
Beseeches Abraham again: 
"Bid him to my five brothers go 
And warn them of this world of woe. 
That they of all my father's race 
Come not nto this dismal place." 

"What Moses and the prophets wrote 
They have; if they believe them not, — 
Nor would they heed," the patriarch said, 
"Though one came to them from the dead." 



68 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

evil. 
PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN. 

Luke xviii: 1. 

Two men, upon a certain day, 

Went to the temple courts to pray. 

Self righteous stood the pharisee 

And proudly prayed: "God, I thank thee 

That I am not as other men — 

Nor even as this publican. 

From vile offenses I abstain. 

Twice every week a fast maintain; 

Full tithes I pay of all my gain." 

The publican, who stood afar, 
Smote on his breast and made his prayer: 
With downcast eyes — for mercy prayed, 
And in his prayer confession made. 
"Be merciful to me, a sinner," cried 
To Grod, and he was heard and justified. 
And, going home, a light from Heaven, 
Shone in his heart of sins forgiven. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CVIII. 
CHRIST WEARIED. 

CHRIST spent His days with Want and Care, 
For haggard Want was everywhere; 
And often night winds bore His prayer 
Where mountains their great altars rear. 
Cold dews of night lay on His head 
As there for sinful man He prayed. 

cix. 
A HELPFUL SAVIOR. 

Where Jesus walks the sons of sorrow wait; 

Or in the field or at the city gate. 

Now in the place where public prayer is made 

And souls forlorn have come to seek His aid; 

Now where with joy is spread the ample feast, 

And Sadness comes and sits — unbidden guest, — 

His life is all to sacred service given, 

To teach, and heal, and point the way to Heaven. 

For this shall men in later ages raise 
Great temples, dedicated to His praise; 
And daily shall resound the chiming bell. 
Melodious the organ anthem swell; 
And willing hands shall light the altar flame, 
Men chant in praises high to His dear name; 
From hearts devout incense of praise shall rise 
In grateful homage to the bending skies. 

ex. 
DEATH OF THE BAPTIST. 

Matt, xiv: 3-12; Mark vi: 14. 
John goes courageous to a martyr's fate, 
A victim of Herodias' relentless hate; 
Before the bloody axe the seer lies down. 



70 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

While unseen angels hold his dazzling crown. 
His loved disciples bear him to the tomb, 
And then with their sad tale to Jesus come. 

CXI. 

FIVE THOUSAND FED. 

Matt, xiv; iviark vi: 20; Luke ix: 13; John vi: 1. 

And Jesus, wearied with fresh grief and toil, 
"Come ye apart," He says, 'and rest awhile." 
They row their Ittle boat away by night 
And land beyond in early morning light; 
In rural scenes they seek a kind retreat. 
Where He in peace may rest His weary feet. 

But men, in troops from all their villages 

Around the lake, across the Jordan press, 

To seek Him even in the wilderness. 

And going forth their needy crowds to greet, 

Christ kindly welcoms them to His retreat; 

Unmindful of fresh grief and weariness. 

All day He toils that He their lives may bless. 

All tnese have come to Him in eager haste. 
Nor gave a thought to shelter, food or rest; 
When now draw near the closing hours of day, 
They must not hungry, fainting go away. 
And Jesus, with a tender shepherd's care. 
Bids His disciples food for all prepare. 
Five thousand men, and many families, 
Recline in ranks and goodly companies 
Upon the grassy carpet green. 
Their canopy the vernal sky serene. 
Five loaves He blessed, and fishes small, 
And broke, and gave, and fed them all. 
The gathered fragments from the meal — 
That none be lost — twelve baskets fill. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CXII. 
WOULD MAKE HIM KING. 

When crowds, around Him gathering, 
Would take by force and make Him King, 
He sent the twelve in haste away, 
And sought the mountain side to pray 
In shadows of departing day. 

CXIII. 

JESUS AT EVENING PRAYER. 

Far from the haunts of men He bows, 

In God His Father's greatest house; 

The lofty ceiling, gemmed with stars, 

Bends o'er the Son in evening prayers. 

The call a hungry throng to feed 

Told Him anew of man's great need; 

And in His hour of weariness 

The tempter of the wilerness 

Had come again his lures to press — 

From thorn and cross and shame to turn aside 

For throne and crown and robes of earthly pride. 

Brief was the conflict here, and He 

Again had won the victory. 

He rises with a spirit calm, serene; 

And, lo! the foe has vanished from the scene. 

cxiv. 
CHRIST WALKS ON THE SEA. 

Matt, xvi: 23; Mark vi: 47; John vi: 19. 
The twelve apostles rowed their bark; 
A storm arose; the night was dark; 
Night and a storm on Gallilee, 
When Christ came walking on the see. 
Beneath the half-mooned clouded rays, 
He seemed a specter to their gaze; 
They cried aloud and were dismayed. 



71 



72 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

" 'Tis I" — He said — "Be not afraid." 
His presence quelled the mutiny 
Of roaring wind and raging sea. 

cxv. 
PETER'S PERIL AND PRAYER. 

Matt, xiv: 28. 
"Bid me" — impulsive Peter cried, 
Before he saw the sea subside — 
"If it indeed, my Lord, be Thee, 
Bid me come, walking on the sea." 
And He said "Come." And at His word 
Went Peter down to meet his Lord. 

But when he saw the billows rise, 

And fixed on them, not Christ, his eyes. 

He feared — "Lord save me!" sinking cried. 

And Jesus drew him to His side, 

Secure. "O thou of little faith. 

Why didst thou doubt?" the Master saith. 

cxvi. 
CHRIST THE LIVING BREAD. 

John vi. 
With morning came the multitude; 
And when, for bread, they still pursued. 
He told them of the living food — 
Himself, the Bread sent down from Heaven, 
True Manna, for believers given. 

CXVII. 

CHRIST DESERTED. 

From that time many went away 
And walked no more with Jesus; they 
Had followed Him for earthly gain. 
And now of "sayings hard" complain. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 73 

CXVIII. 

FIDELITY OF THE TWELVE. 

"And will ye also go away?" 
He asked the twelve so tenderly. 
"To whom, O Rabbi, shall we go? 
Words of eternal life hast Thou," 
Was Peter's answer, "and we know 
Thou art the Christ, Thou art the Son 
Of God, Thou art the Promised One." 

The suffering surround Him still, 

To claim His care and healing skill. 

No one who came for help to pray 

Was ever turned unheard away. 

The lepers healed and purified. 

No more alone, apart, abide; 

No more by men repelled tney roam; 

But share again the joys of home. 

The deaf, the dumb, the lame, the blind. 

In Him their great Physician find. 

Disordered minds in Him find peace; 

The demon-bound a glad release. 



cxix. 

HEATHEN BORDERS VISITED. 

Still yearning for sweet privacy, 
Christ wends His way through Gallilee 
To Tyre and Sidon's boundary; 
By Tabor and the Mount of Blessing, 
And Nazareth, and Cana, passing 
Familiar scenes of youth, until 
Beyond the bounds of Israel. 



74 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

CXX. 

A GENTILE MOTHER'S PRAYER. 

Matt, xv: 21; Mark vli: 21. 
So far His fame was known they said 
Of Him that "He could not be hid," 
A gentile mother comes to plead 
Her demon stricken daughter's need. 
Great is her sorrow, brief her prayer — 
"Lord help me!" Will the Master hear? 
She will not ask the children's bread, 
But only from their table spread. 
Crumbs where the "little dogs" are fed. 

Impatient, the disciples say, 

"Rabbi, Rabbi, send her away; 

She follows after us and cries." 

Not thus the Savior's heart replies. 

A trial of her faith He makes. 

And then in words of comfort speaks; 

Compels the demon forth to go 

And saves the maiden from her foe. 

Here, as on far Gerasa shore, 

One sign He wrought, one and no more. 

cxxi. 
IN DECAPODS. 

Now, passing Sidon's boundaries. 
He preaches in Decapolis, 
Along the rugged eastern shore 
Where Jordan's waters outward pour: 
To eyes that never thrilled with light 
He brings the ecstasy of sight; 
He speaks "Be opened" to deaf ears. 
The healing words the sufferer hears; 
His touch awakes mute lip and tongue 
To move in praise, by speech and song. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 75 

CXXII. 

FOUR THOUSAND FED. 

Matt. XV : 22; Mark viii: 1. 
Though wild and desert is the place, 
The people throng Him for three days, 
Held by His love compelling grace. 
With fishes few, sev'n loaves of bread, 
Four thousand hungry men are fed; 
The gathered fragments from the meal. 
That none be lost, sev'n baskets fill. 



CXXIII. 

RENEWED OPPOSITION. 

Mark viii: 10. 
Their little boat glides out once more. 
Across to Dalmanutha's shore — 
Far south, in His loved Gallilee. 
This region borders on the sea. 

Awaiting are the Pharisees, 

His ever watchful enemies. 

And while He still would heal and teach. 

They hinder with contending speech, 

Demanding that a sign from Heaven 

Of His authority be given. 

Their stubborn unbelief He knows; 
They seek not light, but to oppose. 
Three days and nights was Jonah held, 
In the sea monster's sides compelled. 
"So must the Son of Man," He said, 
"Three days and nights in earth be laid. 



76 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 



CXXIV. 

PETER'S CONFESSION. 

Matt, xvi: 13. 

BEYOND the Jordan and the sea, 
And Cesarea Philippi, 
A long and weary journey He 
Now makes to northern solitude, 
Where spies and foes will not intrude. 

Here Peter his confession makes 

And Jesus for Messiah takes; 

As he had made it on that day. 

When many turned and went away. 

From Christ a benediction fell 

On Peter, who had learned so well 

The truth the Father had revealed, 

The truth from flesh and blood concealed. 

"The gates of hell shall not prevail," 

He said, who knew foes would assail — 

"Against the church I build upon 

'The Rock' in thy confession shown." 



cxxv. 
THE TRANSFIGURATION. 

Matt, xvii: 1; Mark ix: 2; Luke ix: 28. 

Where snow crowned Hermon meets the gaze, 

With chosen ones, all night He prays. 

There, swift from their celestial home, 

Have Moses and Elijah come — 

Great lawgiver and prophet bold 

That taught and warned the men of old. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 77 

Of His decease they talk with Him — 
Awaiting at Jerusalem; 
His nearing triumph, by the cross, 
O'er Satan, death and earthly loss. 

With countenance and raiment bright. 
He stands transfigured in their sight. 
While speaks the Father from His throne — 
"Hear Him, My well beloved Son." 
And with the voice, a shining cloud 
O'ershadowed them — supernal glowed. 
In awe the three disciples bowed: 
The splendor of the vision gone. 
These — Peter, James and loving John — 
Beheld no man, but Christ alone. 

Though Peter long would linger here — 
Would fain three tabernacles rear. 
Not long the Master may abide, 
In glory, on the mountain side. 
A world of sin awaits below, 
And He returns to bear its woe. 

"If Thou canst help," He hears a cry, 
"Oh, save my demon haunted boy; 
To Thy disciples I have brought 
Him, but they could not cast him out." 

CXXVI, 

DEMONIAC SON RELEASED. 

Matt xvii; Mark ix: 14; Luke ix: 37. 
The nine disciples, baffled, stood 
Before a gazing multitude; 
Their faith had failed them in an hour 
When most they needed all its power. 
The demon shrieked— a horrid sound — 
The youth lay writhing on the ground. 



78 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

And, seeing all the father's grief, 
The Lord rebuked their unbelief: 
"O race perverse, O faithless race! 
How long ere My forbearance cease? 
Thou spirit dumb and deaf," He said, 
"Come out of him." The fiend obeyed — 
Sore rent, and left him as one dead; 
But Jesus raised him to his feet. 
Released, restored, his cure complete. 

"Lord, why could we not cast him out?" 
They said. "This power cometh not," 
The Master, sighing, said, 
"But when with fasting men have prayed. 

CXXVII. 

IN GALLILEE. 

Luke xi: 53. 
Again in Gallilee He taught 
And miracles of healing wrought. 
The Pharisees again pursued 
With buffetings and sayings rude. 
To drive away the multitude. 
They pressed upon Him more and more; 
And meekly their assaults He bore. 

CXXVIII. 

LORD OF THE SABBATH. 

Matt, xii; Luke vi: 1. 
While passing through the fertile fields. 
Where God for man the harvest yields. 
There Jesus' hungry followers 
Pluck for their food the ripened ears. 
And, rubbing in their hands the grain, 



79 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Their breakfast make. The Jews complain 
That rules, by their tradition spoken, 
For Sabbath conduct these have broken. 
''Man was not for the Sabbath made; 
The Sabbath is for man," He said. 
"The Son of Man due homage pay, 
Lord even of the Sabbath day." 



cxxix. 
TEN LEPERS HEALED. 

Luke xvii: 11. 
Ten lepers see Him from afar, 
Their plaintive pleadings pierce the air; 
Compelled to shun abodes of men 
And cry aloud, "Unclean," unclean!" 

"Go, stand before the priest," He said, 
"And do the things that Moses bade." 

And, straightway going to obey. 
The ten found healing in the way. 
The ten were healed, but only one 
(And he was a Samaritan) 
Returned to Jesus, glad to raise 
His voice in gratitude and praise. 

Then sadly spoke the voice Divine— 

"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nme? 



80 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

cxxx. 
FORGIVENESS ENJOINED, 

Matt, xviii: 21. 

NOW, as they journey, Peter speaks— 
Instruction from the Master seeks. 
"How often, Lord, dost Thou command, 
That I forgiveness must extend 
When one, my brother, shall offend? 
Shall seven times the limit be?" 

"Not until seven times, I say to thee. 
Must he, repentant, be forgiven; 
But unto seventy times and seven." 
These words to Peter were addressed 
And by this parable impressed: 

cxxxi. 
THE UNGRATEFUL SERVANT. 

Before his lord a servant came— 
Ten thousand talents, lawful claim. 
Confessed— all overdue; 
A bankrupt, as his master knew. 

"Let him be sold— all that he hath— 
And payment made," the master saith; 
"Wife, children, goods include." 
So spake his lord, with power endued. 

With terror seized, the debtor falls 
Upon his knees; for mercy calls — 
"Have patience yet awhile with me. 
And I will pay it all to thee." 

Compassionate, his lord relents; 
His hasty judgment he repents— 
Forgives the hopeless debt and frees 
The suppliant, still on his knees. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 81 

Released, he meets, as forth he goes, 
A fellow servant, one who owes 
A hundred pence and cannot pay; 
And seizing him while in the way, 
"Pay that thou owest," he demands, 
And fierce before his debtor stands. 

"Have mercy— I will pay the debt," 

His fellow servant pleads, and yet 

He would not heed his debtor's plea. 

But cast him into jail till he 

Should pay the debt. Now does his lord 

To this hard creditor award 

Strict judgment for his wickedness— 

That he shall pay, by due distress. 

His debt, or be in prison made 

To stay till that great debt is paid. 

Like judgment shall the man receive 
Who does not from the heart forgive 
His brother all his trespasses. 
Law of the kingdom strict is this. 



CXXXII. 

FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 

John vii: 2. 

The Feast of Tabernacles drew 

To sacred rites the pious Jew, 

And when the temple courts he sought, 

There Jesus came, and healed and taught. 

The people barken, Jews oppose — 

The rulers ever were His foes 

Since first He drove their trading horde 

Out from the temple of the Lord. 



82 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

CXXXIII. 

CONSPIRACY OF THE RULERS. 

John vii: 33. 
The magnates high in church and state 
Beheld with envy thousands wait 
Where Jesus taught — the loud acclaim 
When Jesus to the temple came. 
They called their council and conspired, 
Unheeding what their law required; 
Unheard His cause, vain all reply, 
They judged Him and condemned to die. 

CXXXTV. 

NICODEMUS IN THE COUNCIL. 

John vii: 50. 
When honest Nicodemus tried 
To turn the threatened blow aside. 
They only answered to deride. 
"Doth our law judge a man unheard?" 
He said — a just and wise man's word. 
They answered only, "Search and see; 
No prophet comes from Gallilee." 

cxxxv. 
NEVER MAN SO SPAKE. 

They sent their officers to take 
Him. Jesus in the temple spake. 
His dignity and kindliness. 
His winning words and worthiness 
Inspire the servants of the law 
With wonder, and restrain with awe. 
On Him, who only spake to bless, 
How could they bring death or distress? 
Not yet the powers of darkness gain 
Their cause; when won, won but in vain 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 83 

CXXXVI. 

THE LIVING WATER. 

John vii: 37. 

When came the last great festal day, 
With shoutings near and far away, 
And waters from Siloam poured, 
And loud hosannahs to the Lord; 
Processions round the altar go 
Sev'n times, as erst at Jericho. 
Then Jesus stood and cried aloud, 
To all the vast and surging crowd — 

"If any man thirst, come to Me 
And drink of living water free. 
And in his breast shall ever flow. 
Life giving fountains I bestow." 
When flaming torches lit the night. 
He saw, and said, "I am the Light: 
Because He hath the Light of Life, shall he 
Not walk in darkness who hath light in Me." 



CXXXVII. 

NEVER MAN SO SPAKE. 

"Why did ye not bring Him?" demand 
The rulers when return the band. 
As one the posse answer makes — 
"Man never spake as this man speaks." 

When fiercer contradiction grew. 
And they would stone Him, He withdrew; 
But thoughtful hearers pondered — 
"Might not this be the Christ indeed?" 



84 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CXXXVIII. 

MAN BORN BLIND. 

John ix: 1. 

A man born blind was led to wait 
Where Jesus passed the temple gate. 
His touch made clay a healing salve, 
He said, "Go, in Siloam lave." 
The man obeyed, received his sight — 
Day dawning after years of night. 
Returned, he boldly testifies 
That Jesus gave sight to his eyes. 

The Pharisees, who still pursue 
With spiteful zeal, attack anew. 
Unmindful of sweet mercy's claim, 
His Sabbath ministry they blame; 
And, in their madness, even dare 
"The man's a sinner" to declare. 

The touch that gave the blind man sight 
Has turned his spirit to the Light. 
He met their cold, unfeeling plea — 
"One thing I know, enough for me — 
I once was blind; I now can see; 
The man a prophet true must be." 
And ever so: The touch Divine 
Has been to hearts a potent sign 
That Jesus is the Son, with power 
To heal and save in every hour. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 85 



CXXXIX. 

IN PEREA. 

John x: 40. 

BESET by such malignant foes, 
Beyond the Jordan Jesus goes 
Where, buried in the watery grave, 
He, long ago, example gave, 
To those who would their faith profess 
"Thus to fulfill all righteousness." 
With words of healing saving power, 
There waits His fast approaching hour. 

CXL. 

THE RICH YOUNG RULER. 

Luke xviii: 15. 
A rich young ruler ran to Jesus, kneeling 
"Good Master," he said in low voice appealing, 
"Tell me— by what good deed— what act of merit, 
I may, assured, eternal life inherit?" 

"Why callest thou Me good? For there is none 

Good, only God. He is the Holy One — 

If thou wilt enter into life, this do: 

Keep thou all the commandments thou dost know.' 

So Jesus answered under Moses' law. 

Still would the young man further lesson draw. 

"Which, Lord? Thy teaching I would fully know; 

And in the way of life securely go." 

"These well-known precepts of the law obey. 

Due honor to thy father, mother, pay; 

Do not commit adultery or kill; 

Do not defraud thy fellow man or steal; 

And thou thy neighbor as thyself shalt love; 

All these by constant daily life approve." 



86 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

"All these have I kept, even from my youth" — 
The young man answered him with conscious truth. 
"And now what lack I yet?" With bowed head 
He spoke as humbly seeking to be led. 
The earnest seeker Jesus saw and loved; 
And deeply was the Master's spirit moved. 
"One thing thou lackest; wilt thou perfect be? 
Sell that thou hast and come and follow Me." 
"Sell that thou hast and give it to the poor; 
And thou shalt have in Heaven a treasure store." 

Then sorrowful, the young man, when he heard. 
Arose, and went away, and left the Lord. 
For great possessions held his heart in thrall; 
And closed it to the Savior's gracious call. 

Great sorrow fills the Master's gentle heart 
That one so near the kingdom should depart. 

"The camel may as easily. 
Said Christ, "Go through a needle's eye, 
As one who trusts in riches gain 
An entrance into Heaven's Domain." 

Astonished the desciples cry — 
Who then can be saved. Rabbi?" 

And gazing earnestly on them, 

This answer from the Master came: 

"With man it is impossible. 

And yet with God all power does dwell." 

CXLI. 

DEFORMED WOMAN HEALED. 

Luke xiii: 10-16. 
As oft, upon the Sabbath day. 
In synagogue Christ taught The Way; 
Gave lessons from their sacred lore. 
By prophets penned, long years before. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 87 

A woman listened all attent — 
Deformed she was, her frame low bent. 
The Master suffering could trace 
In furrowed cheek and withered face. 
He speaks with ready sympathy — 
"Thou'rt loosed of thine infirmity." 

At once erect she fills the place 
With songs and shouts of greatful praise. 
While all around with her rejoice, 
Discordant is the ruler's voice: 

"Six days," he says, "appointed are 
For labor and for every care; 
Six days, for work, in house and field; 
In them come hither, and be healed." 

"Thou hypocrte," the Lord replied, 

"When thou thine ox or ass untied 

And led it out this day to drink. 

Didst break the Sabbath — dost thou think? 

Shall not release for her be found 

Whom eighteen years has Satan bound — 

A daughter true of Abraham?" 

And all his foes were put to shame. 

CXLII. 

SILENT COMING OF THE KINGDOM. 

While Jesus yet abode in Galilee, 
Came questionings from scribe and Pharisee, 
Who thought the kingdom must be drawing near — 
"God's kingdom — Rabbi, when will it appear?" 
"God's kingdom cometh not," the Master said, 
"With observation outward signs displayed: 
Within you He begins His gracious reign; 
For Him in outward sign, men look in vain." 



88 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

CXLIII. 

COVETOUSNESS CONDEMNED. 

Luke xii: 13-22, 
A young man seeking only gain, 
Once came to Jesus to complain: 
"Speak to my brother, Lord, that he 
Divide th' inheritance with me." 

"A ruler and divider who 

Hath made Me," — Christ said, "Over you. 

"Of covetousness all beware 

This parable attend with care." 

CXLIV. 
THE RICH FOOL. 

Luke xii: 16. 
A rich man's grounds great harvest bore, 
He had not where his goods to store: 
Nor would he give them to the poor. 

Within himself the miser thought — 
"This will I do — my barns are not 
Enough to hold when all is brought. 

The harvest waiting in my field; 
But I will tear them down and build 
Me greater ones; and all the yield 

Of acres broad will there bestow; 
And say unto my soul — "Soul, know 
Enough for many years hast thou." 

Consider this and take thine ease: 
Eat, drink, be merry, all is peace." 
But God, whom he sought not to please, 

Showed him how brief was his control. 
God spake to him and said, "Thou fool. 
This night will I require 'thy soul.' 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 89 

Then whose shall all these riches be. 
That thou hast gained so carefully — 
That thou hast said belonged to thee?" 

This lesson Jesus taught to all — 
Like judgment will the man befall 
Whose heart is on his wealth bestowed, 
Who therefore is not "rich toward God." 



CXLV. 

DROPSY CURED. 

Luke xiv: 1-6. 
Invited by a Pharisee 
To dine with him one Sabbath, he 
Sees in the waiting company 
A man, whose swollen limbs and frame, 
His ever quick compassion claim. 

And, turning from the table where 

Awaits him hospitable fare, 

He questions learned doctors there — 

(These Pharisees and lawyers are) 

"And is it lawful do ye say — 

To heal upon the Sabbath day?" 

But silent sit with no assent; 

They venture not an argument. 

And while He speaks the word that heals. 

His placid manner scarce conceals 

The indignation that He feels 

For hypocrites — beholding these 

Who, on the Sabbath would release 

An ox or sheep in pit cast down 

While man distressed no help is shown. 



90 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CXLVI. 

HUMILITY TAUGHT. 

Luke xiv: 7-11. 
And seeing with what eagerness 
Men to the higheset seats would press, 
Thus His disciples He addressed: 
"When thou art bidden to a feast 
G-o not to take the highest place; 
Lest thou, compelled thy steps retrace 
When Cometh a more honored guest 
And, yielding to thy host's request, 
Thou with confusion in thy face. 
Begin to take a lower place. 

But would'st thou with true honor meet. 
Go thou and take a lowly seat. 
Be not too eager to aspire; 
'Till he shall say, 'Friend, go up higher.' 
Then all who sit with thee shall see 
What honors are bestowed on thee. 
He that exalts himself shall be abased. 
The humble heart shall be to honor raised. 



WHOM TO INVITE TO A FEAST. 

Luke xiv: x2, 13. 
When thou a dinner or a supper dost prepare 
That others come and in thy bounty share, 
The rich, thy friends thy neighbor well bestowed 
Call not — Who will requite thee with like good. 

Go call the poor, the lame, the maimed, the blind, 
Who can not give thee recompense in kind. 
The resurrection of the just shall be 
The certain recompense bestowed on thee. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 91 

CXLVIII. 

A lawyer would His teaching try — 

Intent himself to justify — 

"Who is my neighbor?" he inquired. 

And answer from the Lord desired. 

This parable the Master gave, 

For answer to the question grave — 

A certain man went forth, to go 

Down that rough road to Jericho. 

And passing on his way along 

A band of thieves he fell among; 

Who beat him, seized his goods and fled. 

And left him naked and half dead. 

A priest came by, saw where he lay 
Gave but a look and went his way; 
Likewise a Levite coming near 
Passed on and gave the man no care. 

Those went their way, then came a man, 
(And he was a Samaritan), 
Who saw the sufferer and ran 
And raised him up with gentleness; 
With oil and wine his wounds did dress, 
And caused him to the inn to ride. 
And walked supporting by his side; 
Provided him with needed care. 
And left him safely resting there." 
"Who is my neighbor?" — questioned — 
"Go thou and do likewise," Christ said. 



92 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 



CXLIX. 

MARY AND MARTHA. 

Luke x: 38. 

TWO sisters dwelt in Bethany, 
With Lazarus, their brother: He, 
The Teacher, there found sympathy, 
There Martha served with housewife care. 
While Mary chose her portion where 
His voice in counsel she might hear. 
"Speak to my sister, Lord, that she 
Bear part in household toil with me," 
Thus Martha spoke in a complaining plea. 
"I know thy care for many things 
What trouble all thy labor brings. 
One thing is needful Mary's heart" — 
Said Jesus — "Chose that one good part." 

CL. 

A SORROWFUL SUMMONS. 

John xi: 3. 

A word to Jesus from these friends reveals 
Their faith in Him who every sorrow heals; — 
"He whom thou lovest, Lord, is sick" — it tells. 

For He himself the Son of Man will share 
The ills that all the sons of men must bear. 
And He who often soothed another's woe 
Himself the weight of human grief must know. 

Yet friendship waits; and Jesus for two days. 
The present work to finish, faithful stays: — 
Two days! and Lazarus He knows is dead. 
"I go to wake him out of sleep," he said. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 93 

Alarmed the twelve the Master would restrain. 

"The Jews would stone Thee, Lord, from this refrain." 

The work of Him that sent Me while 'tis day 

I do: night comes and will all labor stay." 

Courageous Thomas answers loyally 

Then let us go that we with Him may die." 

CLI. 

BLIND BARTIMEUS. 

Luke xix: 2-10. 
Through Jericho His pathway lies. 
To reach His place of sacrifice. 
Blind Bartimeus hears a cry — 
"Jesus of Nazareth goes by," 
"Thou Son of David, help," he cries; 
And Jesus gives sight to his eyes. 
Rejoicing in the heavenly ray 
He follows Jesus in the way. 

CLII. 

ZACHEUS THE PUBLICAN. 
Luke xix: 12-26. 
The publican, Zacheus heard 
With joy His faith assuring word. 
In answer to his contrite vows, 
"Salvation cometh to this house." 
For he had said "Fourfold, Lord, I restore. 
And half my goods I give unto the poor." 

CLIII. 

PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 

Luke xix: 11. 
And, as the people gathered near 
This parable He utters here — 
"Ten men received ten pounds to test 



94 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Which man will rule ten cities best. 
Who gained ten pounds, ten cities gained 
Who gained five pounds o'er five he reigned, 
Whose pound was in a napkin hid 
All that he had was forfeited. 

CLIV. 

JERICHO TO BETHANY. 

The path was steep, and rough and long, 
And wound the desert hills among; 
From Jericho and Jordan plain, 
His place of sacrifice to gain. 
With spirit firm to suffer there, 
Upon a cross He first must bear; 
He went before, while followed near, 
The twelve oppressed with sudden fear. 

CLV. 

AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. 

John xi: 17-44. 
With them. He stood beside the grave 
Of Lazarus — a hillside cave. 

"Hadst Thou been here," the weeping sisters cried, 
"Rabbi, we know our brother had not died." 
"I am the Resurrection," He 
Replied, in words of mystery. 

"In me the living never dies — 
By me the dead to life arise." 
Four days, in death's embrace had slept 
The friend He loved, and "Jesus wept." 
"Take ye away the stone," He said — 
The stone that on the tomb was laid, 
And willing hands at once obeyed. 
Then to His Father, God, He prayed — 
"I know Thou always hearest Me, 
Because of these I prayed to Thee." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 95 

Then, "Lazarus, come forth!" aloud 
He called before the wondering crowd. 
The dead revived, and, from the gloom, 
Came forth in habit of the tomb. 
Bound hand and foot (they buried so). 
"Loose him," said Christ, "and let him go." 



CLVI. 

MARY'S ANNOINTING. 

John xii: 1-8; Matt, xxvi: 6-13, 

They made a feast in Bethany, 

And Jesus came, and, graciously, 

Joined in their festal company. 

Though clouds hung on His path that day 

That nevermore should pass away 

Till in the sepulcher He lay. 

And, Lazarus to life restored. 
Was there reclining by his Lord. 
And Martha served, and Mary brought 
A precious gift, with loving thought, 
Of ointment, that a prince might bring 
To coronation of a king. 

She broke the box, and the perfume 

Arose and filled the spacious room. 

With lavish hand, upon His head, 

The consecrated oil she shed; 

Nor deemed her work of love complete 

Until annointed were His feet. 

Nor paused until her flowing tresses 

Had soothed His feet with chaste caresses. 



96 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLVII. 

SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD. 

John xii: 4, 5. 

Offended, Judas cried in haste: 
"Behold and see how great this waste! 
This ointment, sold, had brought, I'm sure, 
Three hundred pence, to help the poor." 

Not for the poor did Judas care; 
But he the common purse did bear. 
And stole what was entrusted there. 

Her thought the Master understood, 
And said: "She hath done what she could; 
The poor are always with you, where 
With them your bounty you may share; 
But Me ye have not always here." 

"Why trouble ye the woman? She 
Hath wrought a goodly work on Me — 
Annointed Me for burial. 
This shall be her memorial: 
In every land beneath the sun. 
Where e'er My gospel shall be known, 
Shall this be told that she hath done." 



CLVIII. 

JUDAS PLANS TREASON. 

John xiii: 2; Matt, xxvi: 14. 

And Judas, baffled in his greed. 
Goes out to plan a traitor's deed. 
For thirty silver pieces small 
Betray his Lord, and sell his soul. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 97 



CLIX. 

TRIUMPHANT ENTRY. 

Matt, xxi; Luke xix: 29-40; John xii: 12. 

CHRIST had one day of triumph when 
He heard the shouts of fickle men, 
As on a lowly beast He rode, 
Where oft in dust His feet had trod. 
Behind, before, on either side — 
"Hosannah! David's Son!" they cried; 
And spread their garments in the way 
And hailed Him King for but a day. 

With these, from far off Gallilee, 
A great and goodly company. 
From out the city portals came, 
And joined in praise and loud acclaim ; 
For far and near the word had spread 
Of Lazarus raised from the dead. 
These went before, and followed those. 
While loud and long the shouts arose. 

And palms were waved and branches strewn 
As they would escort to a throne. 
"Rebuke them!" cry the Pharisees. 
"The stones would cry out, if but these," 
The Master said, "should hold their peace." 

Unmoved by all their wild applause, 
He sees the shadow of the cross — 
That cross that shadowed all His way; 
With horrid arms to hold its prey: 
That cross whereon ere this week end 
His pierced body shall extend. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 
CLX. 

CHRIST WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM. 

Luke xix: 41. 

Where Olivet looks to the west, 

He pauses, weeps, by grief oppressed. 

Jesusalem, her walls and gates, 

Before Him stands. What doom awaits 

Her palaces and sacred fane. 

He sees with inward vision plain — 

Her walls and gates by foes o'erthrown, 

Her fane and palaces cast down; 

Her sons and daughters in the dust 

Despoiled and slain by Roman lust. 

The violated virgin's piercing shriek — 
Self-slain for shame, relief in death to seek; 
The plundered houses, gardens desolate — 
No pity for the poor, no ransom for the great; 
Where proudly Judah's kings were crowned 
Dark desolation sits enthroned. 

And Jesus weeps — a patriot's tears. 
At vision of those dreadful years. 
In presence of the vision grim, — 
What all the loud applause to Him? 



CLXI. 

THE CHILDREN'S GREETING. 

xvlatt. xxi: 15. 

The children, in the temple, sang; 
In festal song their voices rang. 
As Jesus to the portals came 
They sang hosannas to His name. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 99 

Their songs the jealous Jews displease — 
"Rabbi," they say, "dost Thou hear these?" 
And Jesus answered, pleased to hear 
The children His brief triumph cheer: 
"Have ye not read, in ancient lays, 
From mouth of babes God perfects praise?" 



CLXII. 
SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE. 

Matt xxi: 12; Luke xix: 45. 

He cleansed the temple courts again, 
Drove out the greedy, trading men. 
Cast down the instruments profane 
That made God's house a place of gain. 

"My Father's house, the house of prayer — 

This ye have made a robber's lair. 

Take these things hence, your traffic cease." 

Then taught and healed and left in peace. 

In Bethany He found repose, 

Secure from all His plotting foes. 



100 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXIII. 

TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE. 

WHAT time the sun, with vernal ray, 
Gives equal length to night and day, 
Oft as returns the springtime, when 
The paschal lamb was brought and slain, 
Christ came into the temple, where 
Did pious hands the lamb prepare. 

And now had come the final week 
When, in the temple. He would speak. 
His teachings, ominous, portend 
A people hastening to the end. 
Bid His disciples watch, prepared. 
As servants, waiting for their Lord. 

CLXIV. 

TRIUMPH BY THE CROSS FORETOLD. 

John xii: 20; Luke xx: 21. 

His parables He now resumed, 
And spake as to a nation doomed; 
His passion and His death foretold 
In speech direct and figure bold. 
When told of the inquiring Greeks, 
Serene and confident He speaks — 

"We would see Jesus," — they have heard 
That mighty are His deeds and word. 
"A grain of wheat remains alone. 
Except it die — is fruitful grown. 
When in the earth men cast it down. 
If I, from earth, uplifted be, 
I will draw all men unto Me;" 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 101 

Upon the Master's gentle spirit then 
Was cast the shadow of the cross again. 
"With troubled heart what shall I say — 
'My Father, save Me from this hour,' pray? 
But for this very cause I came. 
My Father, glorify Thy name." 

Then from the cloudless heaven fell 

A Voice that Jesus knew full well — 

"I have both glorified," It said, 

"And glorious it shall be made." 

Few understood of all who heard 

The Father's answer to the Lord. 

"An angel spoke to Him," the hearers said; 

And others, dull of ear, "It thundered." 

CLXV. 

THE WICKED HUSBANDMAN. 

Matt, xxi: 12, 22, 23. 

His parables forbode the fate 
Of rulers and the Jewish state. 
They hear, with angry, startled gaze, 
This — uttered in these closing days: 

His vineyard planted, wine press set. 
With walls and watch towers complete. 
The owner goes to lands afar 
And leaves his vineyard to the care 
Of husbandmen, the fruits to share. 

The season of the fruitage near, 

His servants, duly sent, appear, 

His vintage portion to receive. 

The husbandmen against them strive; 

Assault, and beat, and stone and wound, 

And leave them, bleeding, on the ground. 



103 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

"But they will reverence my son," 
He said, and sent him forth alone. 
"This is the heir," they, wicked, say — 
111 treat, and cast him out, and slay. 

Prophetic this symbolic word — 
The Jews reject and kill the Lord. 
Those murderers will God destroy; 
The vineyard others shall enjoy. 
"Rejected by the builders, One 
Becomes the chiefest cornerstone." 

clxvl 
NO WEDDING GARMENT ON. 

Matt, xxii: 1-14. 
A king had made a marriage feast 
In honor of his son; each guest. 
Invited, turned in scorn away. 
When told, on the appointed day, 
"Come, for all things I have prepared," 
No one for his rich bounty cared. 

With insolence they all replied — 
This one his oxen, that his bride. 
His farm another, one a trade — 
With one consent excuses made. 

The king, with indignation moved, 
That these had all ungrateful proved. 
Sent forth his servants in new quest 
And gathered many a willing guest. 
Until they thronged the banquet hall 
With joy for such a royal call. 

But one unhappy man was there — 
One guest perverse, refused to wear 
The wedding garment, — such the lord 
To all who came would free accord. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 103 

CLXVII. 

CAST OUT. 

His lord whose grace he would reject 

Rebukes his folly and neglect, — 

"Wherefore didst thou come hither, friend, 

Without a wedding garment on?" 

And he was speechless to defend 

His failure; and, swift judgment shown. 

Was into outer darkness thrown. 



CLXVIII. 

THE SADDUCEES SILENCED. 

Matt, xxii: 46. 

To Sadducees, who, vain, denied 
The resurrection. He replied — 
"The power of God ye do not know. 
Nor yet the Scriptures, what they show. 
They who accounted worthy are 
The resurrection life to share. 
Are not to be in marriage given, 
But are as angels are in Heaven." 

"Sons of His resurrection power 
Are sons of God; they die no more. 
But that the dead are raised up see 
By Moses, at the burning tree. 
God called him there, and said, I am 
The Lord, the God of Abraham; 
God of the living, not the dead. 
By Him was this to Moses said." 



104 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXVIX. 

RENDER TO CAESAR AND TO GOD. 

Matt, xxii: 15-42. 

Herodians and Pharisees 
Unite as Jesus' enemies; 
Approach, with studied phrases fair, 
And questions fashioned to ensnare: 

"Rabbi, we know," their speech began, 

"Thou carest not for any man, 

But speakest always what is true, 

Unmindful of what men may do. 

This question answer, tell us, pray, 

Is tribute lawful — shall we pay 

At Caesar's call? What dost Thou say?" 

He grieved at their hypocrisy — 
"Ye hypocrites! Why tempt ye Me? 
The tribute money let me see." 
They bring a Roman coin impressed 
(Denarius) with Caesar's crest. 
"Whose image, superscription, here? 
Both Caesar's, ye say? Then, with care, 
To Caesar render Caesar's own; 
The things of God to God alone." 

CLXX. 

A LAWYER ANSWERED. 

Matt, xxii: 34-40. 

A lawyer questioned: 'Which command 
Is greatest? We would understand." 
"The Lord thy God — one God above — 
With all thy heart. Him shalt thou love. 
With all thy mind, and strength, and soul. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 105 

This first commandment leads the whole." 
So Jesus answered. "And besides, 
The second like to it abides — 
Thy neighbor as thyself shalt love. 
These law and prophets all approve." 
"Rabbi, well hast thou answered; 
These two are first," the lawyer said. 



CLXXI, 

ENEMIES SILENCED. 

In every strange and trying scene 
Christ wore a look benign, serene. 
Such weight His every answer bore. 
They dared to question Him no more. 



CLXXII. 

THE WIDOW'S MITE. 

Luke xxi: 1-4. 

Beside the temple treasury 
Christ sat, the varied gifts to see. 
The rich, of their abundance cast; 
The widow's farthing was her last. 
"More than they all she gave," He said- 
"Gave all her living — all she had." 
And so in wise discourse was passed 
That day in temple courts His last. 



106 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXXIII. 

DISCOURSE OF CHRIST ON OLIVET. 

Matt, xxiv: 15-28. 

THAT evening, ere the sun was set, 
As wont, He sat on Olivet. 
Beyond the Kedron Valley rose. 
With walls defiant of all foes, 
Jerusalem, rebuilt, restored — 
He, David's Son, her rightful Lord. 
The rays of the declining sun 
Resplendent on the temple shone — 
Shone, bathing with a flood of light 
The city on its rocky height. 
"See, Rabbi, what great buildings!" cried 
The twelve with patriotic pride. 
"The lofty columned porch behold! 
The temple roofed with shining gold." 

clxxiv. 
JERUSALEM'S FALL FORETOLD. 

Matt. xxiv. 

And Jesus, with prophetic ken, 
Revealed the future to them then; 
When hostile armies from the west 
The hill of Zion would invest; 
The twanging bow that winged the flight 
Of deadly arrows in the fight; 
The catapult, with stunning sound. 
Strong ramparts battered to the ground. 

Dire pestilence, with darts unseen, 
Drives terror to the hearts of men; 
Gaunt famine prowling in the street, 
'Till rapine makes the woe complete. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 107 

The city hasting to its fall, 

Till none are left of great or small. 

Of all their goodly homes bereft, 

"No stone upon another left." 

"When ye the gathered armies see, 

Leave all, and to the mountains flee." 

"And that your flight be not in winter, pray — 

And that it be not on the Sabbath day." 

These dark forebodings ended, Jesus stood, 

And long and silent the doomed city viewed. 



clxxv. 
VISION OF THE LAST JUDGMENT. 

Matt. XXV. 

The sun had set with ray serene; 
Tne vernal moon shone on the scene. 
Then Andrew, Simon, James and John, 
Communing with their Lord alone, 
Besought Him — "Rabbi, tell us when 
Shall be these conflicts among men; 
What sign thy coming shall attend. 
And when the present age shall end?" 

And solemnly the Lord replied: 
"Let no man turn your steps aside. 
Before the coming of that day 
False teachers will lead men astray, 
And many coming in My name, 
'I am the Christ' themselves proclaim. 
And many hearts they will deceive; 
For many will their words believe. 
My chosen ones — Mine own elect — 
They would deceive, but I protect. 



108 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

"When they shall say, *Lo there! Lo here, 
Ye may behold the Christ appear; 
Lo, He is in the wilderness; 
Lo, He is in the secret place!' 
Believe them not; go not their way. 
Deceivers and deceived are they. 

"False Christs and prophets false shall ris3, 
And signs and wonders mark the skies; 
The sun no more the earth shall light, 
The moon refuse to cheer the night. 
The stars shall from their places fall — 
These signs the sons of men appall. 
In divers lands the earth shall shake. 
And wars and desolations make 
The hearts of men to fear and quake. 

"In patience, then, possess your souls; 
Your Father sees, and He controls. 
When all these signs men's hearts shall try, 
Lift up your head with holy joy; 
Know your salvation draweth nigh. 

"As shines the lightning from the east 
And flashes forth unto the west. 
So, sudden, swift and seen of men, 
The Son of Man shall come again." 

CLXXVI. 

PARABLE OF TEN VIRGINS. 

Then shall the kingdom likened be 
To this young festal company: 
Five foolish virgins, and five wise. 
With lamps await the herald's cries. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 109 

An escort for the bridegroom, they 
Have come with light to cheer his way. 
The wise with oil are well supplied; 
The foolish ones no oil provide. 
The bridegroom tarries, and they sleep 
While watchmen their night vigils keep. 

At midnight sounds the herald's call — 

"The bridegroom comes! Go meet him all.' 

The wise, with lamps all shining bright. 

Go forth to meet him, with delight. 

Ine foolish, failing to prepare. 

Depart in darkness and despair. 

The door was shut while they would buy. 

"Lord, open unto us!" they cry. 

"I know you not," the Lord's reply. 

"Too late! Too late!" the night winds sigh. 



110 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXXVII. 

CHRIST JUDGING MEN IN HIS KINGDOM. 

NOW, onward, still, the view extends 
To where the Son of Man descends. 
All holy angels, swift attend; 
By ranks and ranks their way they wend. 
The King, now seated on His throne, 
In glory, makes His judgment known, 
And holds the solemn grand assize 
On deeds of all the centuries. 

Before Him all the nations stand, 
Now separate to either hand. 
As in the field the shepherds keep 
The goats divided from the sheep. 

Before that solemn vast array 

The King shall to the righteous say: 

"Ye blessed of My Father, come; 

Inherit your eternal home, — 

The home for you prepared and made 

Before were earth's foundations laid. 

For I was hungry, and ye stood 

With open hand and gave Me food; 

Was thirsty, and ye drink supplied; 

Was naked, ye did dress provide; 

A stranger, and ye sheltered Me 

With cheerful hospitality; 

Was sick, and ye brought healing balm; 

In prison, and ye faithful came." 

The righteous answer, wondering: 
"Lord, when saw we Thee suffering, 
Athlrst or naked, hungering; 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. Ill 

Sick, or in prison languishing? 

When came with Thee our goods to share, 

And gave Thee raiment, food and care?" 

The King shall answer graciously: 
"The least of these My brethren ye 
Have done this for, and so for Me." 

CLXXVIII. 

Then to the wicked, sentence dire — 

"Depart into eternal fire. 

Prepared aforetime for the host 

Of Satan and his angels lost. 

For I was hungry, and no bread 

Ye gave to satisfy my need; 

Was thirsty, and no drink ye brought; 

Was naked, and ye clothed Me not; 

A stranger, and no open door 

Ye set my weary feet before; 

Was sick, in prison, and yet ye 

Came not with soothing ministry." 

And then shall answer, in dismay. 
The wicked, and, appealing, say: 
"Lord, when saw we Thee needing bread. 
Or thirsty, and refused Thee aid? 
When saw Thee naked, in distress, 
And did not shelter give nor dress? 
In sickness or in prison when 
And ministered not to Thee then?" 

The King shall answer from His throne: 
"Not to My brethren have ye done 
These things; neglecting them, have ye 
Refused this ministry to Me. 
Those into life eternal go; 
The wicked to eternal woe." 



112 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXXIX. 

WATCHFULNESS ENJOINED. 

"Watch, therefore, for ye know not when 
The Son of Man shall come again. 
At midnight, cockcrowing or morn, 
May be the time of His return. 
To you I say, and unto all, 
Watch and be ready for His call." 

The sun has set, the gentle twilight gone; 
Above the Moab hills the paschal moon 
Full orbed shines with a chastened light, 
Brings solace to the early hours of night. 
Along the vale and up the steep 
The growing shadows silent creep. 
Here linger long in solitude 
The little group, with thought subdued. 

Here oft at evening they had met — 
These hours, these words, cannot forget; 
These often will discourse inspire 
When men the solemn theme require. 



CLXXX. 

NIGHT SCENE. 

Now, over in the temple — there. 
Throngs that had come from near and far 
To sacrifice, and evening prayer. 
Have scattered to their places, all. 
To wait the herald's morning call. 
And dream of wonders that befel 
The going forth of Israel; 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 113 

When, innocent, the Lamb was slain, 
That Jacob's sons might safety gain;' 
When the destroying angel turned aside 
Where at the door he saw the blood applied. 
Azrael, dark plumed angel, winged his flight 
Past every Hebrew home that night. 



114 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXXXI. 

THE UPPER ROOM. 

Matt, xxvi; John xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii. 

CHRIST loved His own, — a faithful friend, 
He loved them even to the end. 
His hour approaching near. He drew 
. Apart by night His chosen few. 
Together in a borrowed room. 
For Jesus had no earthly home. 

CLXXXII. 

JUDAS DETECTED AND DISMISSED. 

He laid His flowing robes aside. 
To humble their ambitious pride; 
And, washmg the disciples' feet. 
Taught them that he who serves is great. 
With them He ate the paschal feast, 
While dangers round His path increased. 
The traitor's hand is on the board. 
Of Judas, who has sold his Lord. 
Dishonored in his Master's sight, 
He left the room — "and it was night" — 
The darkness type and counterpart 
Of blackness in the traitor's heart. 

CJLXXXIII. 

THE LORD'S SUPPER INSTITUTED. 

Matt xxvi: 26; Luke xxii: 14; John xiv. 

That night in which Christ was betrayed. 
While yet the triple board was laid, 
Christ took the loaf and looked to Heaven 
For blessing on the portion given; 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 115 

Then broke the bread and poured the wine 
And gave for a memorial sign: — 
"Take, eat ye all, and see," He said, 
"My broken body in this bread; 
All drink the bruised fruit of the vine — 
My flowing blood see in the wine, 
And keep in your remembrance true 
My life blood is poured out for you." 



CLXXXIV. 

CHRIST'S LAST DISCOURSE. 

John i: 17. 

They linger while their Lord portrays 
What waits them in near coming days. 
"The hour is near that I depart. 
For this hath sadness filled your heart. 

"Let not your heart be troubled; ye 
Believe in God; believe in Me. 
I go where many mansions are — 
My Father's house; I will prepare 
A place for you, that ye may be. 
On My return, at home with Me. 
And whither, and the way I go. 
Ye know the place, the way ye know." 

"Where Thou art going. Rabbi? Nay, 
We know not. How, then, know the way?" 
Thus Thomas. Jesus makes reply: 
"The Way, the Truth, the Life am I; 
By Me men unto God draw nigh." 

"Show us the Father," Philip saith, 

"And it sufliceth for our faith." 

"So long have I been with you Philip," says 



116 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

The Lord, "and thou not known Me all these days? 
He that hath seen Me hath the Father seen; 
In Me the Father Is revealed to men. 
The works I do, the words I speak — 
They are the Father's, whom ye seek." 

"How is it, Lord, that Thou Thyself would show 
To us and not unto the world also?" 
Thaddeus Judas this inquiry makes; 
And, gazing fondly on him, Jesus speaks: 

"If a man love Me, he will keep my word; 
Him will My Father love, and I, your Lord, 
Will with the Father come, and our abode 
Will make with Him — your Father and your God.' 



CLXXXV. 

THE TRUE VINE. 

John XV. 

"I am the Vine, the branches ye; 
No fruit ye bear apart f-'om Me. 
Abide in Me, My word obey, 
And God shall hear you when ye pray. 

"Have love for one another; so 
Shall all men My disciples know. 
My perfect peace with you I leave; 
Not as the world doth give, I give. 
The Comforter, a faithful Guide, 
Shall come to you — with you abide. 
And bring to your remembrance true 
All things I have commanded you." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 117 

CLXXXVI. 

PRAYER FOR THE DISCIPLES. 

John xvii. 

These words spake Jesus, and this prayer: 

"Guard, Holy Father, guard with care 

All these whom Thou hast given Me; 

As we are one, so may they be 

Forever one with Thee and Me. 

Give Me the glory that I had 

With Thee before the worlds were made. 

"Eternal life their portion be — 

Eternal life is knowing Thee, 

And Jesus, Thine Annointed Son, 

Whom Thou hast sent to make Thee known. 

And, Father, keep all who receive 

Thy word through them — by them believe; 

And, Father, now I come to Thee — 

Have done the work Thou gavest Me." 



118 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CLXXXVIII. 

IN GETHSEMANE. 

Matt, xxvi: 30-46; Mark xiv: 26-42; Luke xxii: 39-46; 
John xviii: 1-13. 

nE leads taem to Gethsemane: 
Beneath the spreading olive tree 
His soul is bowed in agony. 
He meets the powers of darkness there, 
And on the chilling midnight air 
Is borne His thrice repeated prayer: 
"This bitter cup, My Father, spare." 

Submission breathes in every tone. 
The bloody sweat drops falling down; 
He prays — "Thy will, not Mine, be done." 
There, in the moon-cast shadows dim. 
An angel comes and strengthens Him. 
The chosen three, a watch to keep — 
Not faithless, but too wearied — sleep. 

Where Kedron's quiet waters go 
They answer back the torches' glow 
Of rudely armed and eager men, 
In midnight march across the glen. 

CLXXXIX. 

THE ARREST. 

Lo! Judas, with a motley horde. 

Appears; betrayer of his Lord. 

"Hail Master!" and the traitor's kiss 

Shows Jesus to His enemies. 

With swords and clubs, and dark design, 

They seize upon the Man Divine. 




HE LEADS THEM TO GETHSEMANA 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 119 

cxc. 
PILATE'S SURRENDER. 

Matt, xvii: 24-26; Luke xxii: 25; John xix: 1-6; Mark xv: 14, 15. 
Base envy would put Christ to death; 
Detraction, joined with poisoned breath. 
Fanaticism led the way. 
And Avarice came to betray. 
Though Pilate, in the judgment hall, 
Could find in Him no fault at all. 
Injustice yielded to the cry 
And clamor shouting "Crucify!" 
When Pharisee and Sadducee, 
Impelled by blinding bigotry, 
Against Him gave their urgent voice — 
The thief Barabbas their vile choice. 

Amid that clamor and the reckless strife 
Of men conspired against the Just One's life, 
A voice of mercy claims the ruler's ear — 
A woman's voice — would he but deign to hear. 
From Pilate's wife, the urgent message ran: 
"Have naught to do," it said, "With that just Man." 

"For I have seen, in visions of this night, 
Such prophecies as did my soul affright. 
It seemed that He sat on the judgment seat, 
And thou and all His foes compelled to meet 
His frown, more terrible than that of Mars — 
So changed from that meek, lowly look he wears. 

"And thou and they, with consternation, heard 
Death sentence from His lips as King and Lord. 
I saw His judgment seat become a lofty throne 
And Him their King and Lord did all the nations 

crown." 
In that dark hour of innocence betrayed 
Her voice alone was heard His cause to plead. 



120 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 



THE FATE OF JUDAS. 

Matt, xxvii: 3-8; Acts i: 16-18; John xix: 19-22. 

Remorse drives Judas to despair, 
He has no plea for Mercy's ear. 
Will rather death and darkness dare 
The blinding bribe, the wage of sin, 
Is cast away, a thing unclean. 
Too late repenting, Hope has fled; 
And joy and all of faith are dead. 
Self hanged upon a treacherous bough. 
He falls a loathsome corpse below. 

By conscience driven first he came — 
Where met the partners of his shame — 
"See I have sinned," — confession made 
"Blood innocent I have betrayed" — 
Before the priests and rulers cast 
The hated silver down in haste. 

"And what is that to us," they said, 
"See thou to that" — as forth he fled. 
With this "The Potter's Field" they buy — 
The field where strangers — buried lie. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 121 



CXCII. 

GOLGOTHA. 

CHRIST stands alone; betrayed, denied, 
Delivered to be crucified; 
On Golgotha seals with His blood 
His mission as the Son of God. 

CXCIII. 

PILATE'S ACCUSATION. 

This accusation Pilate traced 

And on the cross above Him placed — 

"This Jesus is of Nazareth, 

King of the Jews" — the writing saith. 

In Hebrew, Greek and Latin writ. 
That all who passed might ponder it. 
The rulers and their Victim, He 
So joined in double irony. 

Stung by their ruler's angry jest, . 

The rulers hastened to protest; 

They hastened to protest in vain: 

The hated writing shall remain. 

"What I have written I have written" — he 

Replies in tones of bitter mockery. 

cxciv. 
SEVEN WORDS OF CHRIST 

Mat., xxvii: 46; Mark xv: 34; Luke xxiii: 34, 43, 46; 
John xix: 26, 27, 28, 30. 
Nailed to the cross. His dying prayer 
Goes up to God, the Father's ear 
His cruel enemies to spare — 
"Forgive them. Father, for they know 
Not, in their blindness, what they do!" 



123 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

The passersby, with railing word 

And wagging heads, deride the Lord — 

"Thou who couldst in three days destroy 

And build again the temple high, 

Now save Thyself; come down!" they cry. 

Reproach Him for His gracious deeds and 

rave — 
"He saved others, Himself he cannot save. 

Chief priest, and haughty counselor, 
In robes dishonored, stand before 
The cross that tells their victory 
And join in taunt and mockery. 

The thieves, that hang on either side. 
Turn, in their torment, to deride, — 
Against the Friend of Man allied 
The outcast and the men of pride. 

The soldiers voice a rude disdain 
For One too gentle to complain, 
Yet strong their buffetings to bear; 
"And sitting down they watch Him there." 

Unawed by that rude Roman band. 
Near by the faithful Marys stand 
In helpless grief; they may not plead 
One word to stay the horrid deed. 

Far off a weeping company 

Of women, friends from GTallilee, 

And they of nearer Bethany; 

And men healed by His ministry 

Of palsy, blindness, leprosy. 

In anguish look upon the scene — 

Christ crucified, two thieves between. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 123 



He hearkens to repentant cries, 
And to the contrite thief replies — 
"This day we meet in Paradise." 

He gives to John's devoted care 

His stricken Mother, watching near: 

His home with Mary John will share. 

To her He says, "Behold thy son!" 
"Behold thy mother," says to John. 
He left this legacy alone. 

He had for friends no earthly store; 
The simple raiment that He wore 
Beneath the cross was gambled for. 

Now darkness, coming over all. 
At midday, spreads a midnight pall. 
Hark! From the cross a plaintive call — 

"Eloi lama sabachthani!" 

"My God, My God!" in anguish He 

Cries, "Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 

The end is near. "I thirst," He said. 
No cooling drink His thirst allayed — 
They gave Him vinegar instead. 

Here ends the awful tragedy. 
"My Father," He prays trustfully, 
"My spirit I commend to Thee." 

'Neath shadowed, sympathizing skies 

He bows His head; " 'Tis finished!" cries 

The gentle Sufferer, and dies. 



124 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

cxcv. 
THE FINAL SCENE. 

Matt, xxvii: 45-55; Mark xv: 37-41; Luke xxiii: 41-49. 
The temple veil is rent in twain, 
Old Mount Moriah moans in pain; 
Still over all does darkness reign. 

The scene the Roman captain awed: 

This truly was the Son of God," 

The stern old soldier said and bowed. 

From opened graves of sainted men. 
The dead came forth, alive again, 
Reviving when their Lord was slain. 

The day of Sabbath rest is drwaing near— 

A day His Jewish enemies revere, 

And guard with jealous, superstitious care 

The ghastly bodies of their victims mar, 

They say, and taint the sacred Sabbath air. 

If these be taken down while yet alive 

The zeal of friends may their frail breath revive, 

And soldiers go to put to speedier death 

The hanging thieves and Man of Nazareth. 

A prophecy of olden time, of Him had spoken. 
And said "A bone of Him shall not be broken," 
And these — the prophecy to them unknown 
Withheld from smiting Him whose life had flown. 
With crushing blows the robbers' legs they smite, 
And pass Him by with quick averted sight. 
Death did not stay the piercing spear 
That to His heart a rent did tear, 
And blood and water issued there — 
A healing fountain, flowing far. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 125 

CXCVI. 

THE ENTOMBMENT. 

Luke xxii: 41-49; Matt, xxvii: 57-60; Mark xxiii: 50-53; 
John xix: 38-42. 

Before the Roman governor 
Went Joseph; that just counselor 
Had not consented to their deed 
When Jesus' death they had decreed. 

He goes to Pilate, bold to crave 
The body for an honored grave; 
And Pilate, angered at the Jews, 
The pious wish did not refuse. 

Arimathean, Joseph's tomb, 

Is nigh at hand; ere night has come 

With Nicodemus' willing aid 

His broken body there is laid. 

A hundred pounds, by weight, they bring 

Of spices, love's last offering. 

Myrrh, aloes, and fine linen wrought. 

And swathe His form with tender thought. 

CXCVII. 

THE FAITHFUL MARYS. 

Mark xv: 47; Luke xxiii: 55. 

The faithful Marys see the place 
With breaking hearts and tearful gaze. 
They, too, will tender tribute pay 
When ends the sacred Sabbath day. 

A victory for wickedness, 
And Cruelty had won the day; 
And He who only spoke to bless 
And lived for others' happiness. 
Enshrouded, cold and silent lay. 



126 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CXCVIII. 

THE DAYS OF DARKNESS. 

The powers of darkness triumphed then, 

Allied with evil minded men. 

That none to steal the body dare, 

A Roman guard is stationed there; 

The great stone set to close the door 

Is sealed with emblems of Rome's power. 

Three days and nights good men in gloom 
Are left — their hope in Joseph's tomb; 
The Roman guard, the stone, the seal, 
To hold Him bound could not avail. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 127 



CXCIX. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

Matt, 28; Mark xvi; Luke xxiv; John xx. 

WHEN dawned the third, the promised day, 
An angel rolled the stone away 
And sat upon it in celestial light, 
With glowing countenance and raiment bright. 
The conscious earth stirred in its depths profound. 
And frightened guards fell prostrate to the ground; 
And Jesus, Conqueror of Death, arose. 
Forever victor over all His foes. 

And often, during forty days. 

His friends rejoiced to see His face 

And hear again His words of grace. 

cc. 
APPEARANCES AFTER THE RESURRECTION. 

Matt, xxviii: 9; Mark xvi; Luke xxiv; John xx; I Cor. xv. 
To Mary, in her blinding tears, 
Before the tomb He first appears 
And with a word dispels her fears. 

He meets the women who have come 
To His annointing, in their gloom. 
And find surprised, an empty tomb. 

Amazed, and glad, and swift they ran — 
Such tidings bore as never man 
Had heard since earth her course began. 
He meets with Simon Peter, who 
Henceforth will stand, rocklike and true. 

That day, as two disciples walked 

To Emmaus, of Him they talked, 

With thoughts disturbed, in tones of grief. 



128 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

As if to give their hearts relief — 
To disappointed hopes a prey; 
When Jesus joined them in the way. 
Such change the cross and tomb had made 
They knew Him not; but Jesus said, 
"What troubles you? What is the source 
Of this your sorrowful discourse?" 

And they in turn thus question Him: 

"A stranger in Jerusalem 

Art Thou? And all these things hast Thou not known 

That in these last days have been done 

Concerning Jesus — Him of Nazareth — 

A Prophet, by our rulers put to death? 

On Him our trusting faith and hope did dwell 

As One who should deliver Israel. 

Besides this day have tidings come that said 

That He, entombed, had risen from the dead." 

Then answered them their risen Lord, 

With earnest, faith commanding word 

From Moses, Psalms and Prophets to them gave 

That He should be delivered from the grave; 

That He, Messiah, suffering, should crown 

His work with fadeless glory and renown. 

When, on the week's first day, all come 

Together in the upper room. 

He meets them, at the eventide, 

And shows His wounded hands and side. 

Again, with words of peace. He stands 
Before them; shows His side and hands; 
And doubting Thomas sees and hears, 
And Christ as "Lord and God" reveres, 
To James, one of the chosen three. 
Was granted an epiphany. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 129 

He meets the seven on that shore 
Where He had called them years before, 
And calling them back from the deep 
Bids Simon Peter "Feed My Sheep." 

When to the mountain they repair, 
Lo! He, before, is waiting there. 
Five hundred, gathered in one place, 
Rejoice to see His well known face. 



cci. 
THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

Matt, xxviii: 19, 20; Mark xvi: 15; Luke xxiv: 48, 49; Acts 1; 

Ere His ascent He gave command: 
"Go, teach, baptise, in every land; 
And teach them to observe and do 
All things I have commanded you. 
Far as your labors shall extend, 
Lo! I am with you, to the end." 



ecu. 
THE ASCENSION. 

Luke xxi: 50; Acts i: 10. 

When He would leave them finally, 
He leads them out to Bethany; 
And there, a parting blessing given. 
Is taken from them into heaven; 
From Olivet's oft trodden height 
A cloud receives Him from their sight. 



130 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CCIII. 
HIS RETURN FORETOLD. 

Acts i: 11. 

While there they stand, in great amaze, 
And long and silent upward gaze, 
Two men, in raiment white, appear 
And speak in words of hope and cheer. 

"Ye men of Gallilee, why stand 
Ye gazing toward the heavenly land? 
Know that the day is coming when 
This Jesus shall return again 
In manner as ye saw Him rise 
Above the cloud and earthly skies." 



cciv. 
AFTER RESURRECTION APPEARANCES. 

Acts vii: 56; ix: 4; xviii: 9; xxii: 21; xxiii: 11; 1 Cor. xv: S. 
ISot seldom in those after years 
The Savior, glorified, appears. 
Ere Stephen won a martyr's crown 
The opened heaven to him was shown, 
And Jesus, standing by the throne 
And in compassion, looking down. 

He came and with a gracious call 
Appeared to persecuting Saul 
When, out on the Damascus road, 
He was revealed the Son of God. 

When in the temple courts Paul prayed, 
The risen Savior came and said — 
"Depart — proclaim in distant lands. 
My resurrection and commands." 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 131 

When Paul in wicked Corinth taught 

Christ came and words of comfort brought; 

He came and lit, with cheering ray, 

The cell where Paul a captive lay: 

' "Jb'ear not," He said; "for thou shalt bear 

My message into lands afar; 

Though bound in chains, in spirit free, 

Shalt testify in Rome of Me." 



ccv. 
VISION OF JOHN. 

Rev. i: 22. 

To John, in Patmos Isle, was given 
A vision of his Lord in heaven, 
Where, seated on His Father's throne. 
He reigns as God's eternal Son. 
On every side a mighty throng — 
Ten thousand times ten thousand strong; 
From every land, of every tongue, 
Extol His name, in lofty song. 



132 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

CCXVIII. 

MESSAGES AND PILGRIMAGES. 

LONG since the men who saw His day- 
Have passed from earthly scenes away. 
Wide as the world His words have flown, 
With messages to every zone. 
And men, in all the centuries 
Have found in them the way of peace. 

And pilgrims come, from lands afar, 
And bow in adoration here. 
And all His gracious words recall — 
His words of peace and life to all; 
Inspired by sea and shore and skies 
That greeted their Redeemer's eyes. 

ccvi. 

INVOCATION. 

Rabboni, Prophet, Lord Divine, 
When pilgrims come, as to a shrine, 
Here, where Thy glories forth did shine. 
Look on the scene with smile benign 
And still each heart, as stilled the sea 
When Thou didst walk on Gallilee; 
When wind and wave attentive heard 
The voice of Thy commanding word; 
When, by Thy gentle footsteps pressed. 
Rebellious seas retired to rest. 

Thou who didst feed Thy little band, 
That drew their full nets to the land 
When they had toiled in vain all night. 
But saw Thee in the morning light; 



THE land; jts lord and sacred lore. 133 

Come, stand again upon this shore, 
And feed Thy children, as of yore; 
Grant each aspiring heart request. 
And answer, "I will give you rest." 

And as each cloudlet, rock and tree 
Is mirrored in this placid sea, 
So may Thy life reflected be 
In every heart that turns to Thee, 
Till pilgrims all are gathered home 
And joy to see Thy Kingdom come. 



134 THE LAND ', ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 



A PRAYER FO REVERY DAY. 

COME Thou the Holy Spirit Heavenly Guest, 
Grant Thine abiding presence in my breast; 
So teach me that I make no vain request; 
But only ask what Thou dost teach is best. 

Lord, Thou hast set Thy glory high above the Heaven, 
By Thee ordained the stars were all their courses given. 
Thou who so long hast kept mine eyes from tears, 
My feet from falling and from death my soul, 
Heart praise receive for all life's fruitful years. 
And gently lead me forward to life's goal. 

Lord of all life and light and power divine, 
Help me in every motive to be Thine; 
Thine by the grace of Jesus, Son of God, 
By Him sweet pardon, peace and life bestowed. 
By Him made free from every stain of sin. 
His cleansing word to make me pure within, 
With appetites and passions of the soul 
Subdued and ever kept in calm control. 
That when temptations from without allure, 
They shall not find within allies impure; 
That small vexations of the daily round, 
Shall only make Thy grace in me abound; 
That I so guard the portals of my speech, 
The weak to strengthen and the seeker teach. 
That heart and outward life each day will praise 
Thy Being, wondrous works and grace. 

Made Thine for chastening of earthly joys; 
With calm assurance that no doubt destroys. 
And Thine when clamors of the world resound; 
That they shall not disturb my peace profound; 
By Thee protected from all fear and harm; 
When dangers would the timid soul alarm. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 135 

Let no false teaching lead my heart astray. 
In hours when doubt and darkness dim the day. 
Be Thou to me The Light, The Truth, The Way. 
When trials come and hard the soul must strive, 
"The peace that passeth understanding" give — 
Made Thine in trusting spirit when I pray, 
And Thine in faithful service day by day. 

Be mine to make Thy holy will my choice, 
And ever hear and heed "The still small voice" — 
In faith and hope and love and Thee rejoice. 
By Thee with needed daily food supplied, 
And solace when by sore affliction tried. 

Our kindred all, and kindred spirits dear — 
Make them, O Lord, the objects of Thy care; 
That they with us may every blessing share. 
In our hearts written see the names they bear; 
Grant us when comes the Master's final word. 
To go and be forever with the Lord. 

To all the needy, Lord, thy bounty give — 

Thy grace to help the life of faith to live: 

To all whom cares of daily life oppress, 

While striving for true peace and righteousness, 

To captives bound thy faithful children. Lord, 

Because sincere they keep thy holy word. 

Because they strive from men's tradition free 

For glory, life and immortality; 

To all who journey, far from friends and home, 

Or on the land or on the restless sea to rome; 

To all who rule in nation or in state. 

Or consecrated at Thine altars wait; 

To all who seek to guide the youthful heart. 

And by Tny word the rule of life impart — 

That youthful learners, taught the sacred word. 



136 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

May early find salvation in the Lord. 

For hearts in desolated homes today — 

For them in their distress we pray, 

That in their stricken moments they may find, 

The Comforter, compassionate and kind. 

Thy cheering presence grant abundantly. 
To all who served in gospel ministry 
At home or in the lands beyond the sea, 
Till thine shall all the nations be, 
The continents and islands of the sea, 
Be joined in peace and lasting harmony. 

Thy praise by all the sons of men be given 
In unison with all the host of Heaven. 

In glory, majesty, dominion. Lord, 
Thy name to all the ages be adored. 
For Jesus 'sake alone this prayer accord. 
As Thou hast promised in Thy holy word. 



THEMES FOR MEDITATION. 

"Finally, my brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatso- 
ever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, what- 
soever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatso- 
ever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if 
there be any praise, think on these things." — Phil, iv: 8. 



Palestine in Perspective 



THE LAND WHERE JESUS TAUGHT. 

rAIR was that land where Jesus taught; 
There priest and prophet warned and wrought; 
There kings had reigned and armies fought: 
And distant rulers tribute brought. 
There mountain, desert, lake and sea 
Are found, and rivers flowing free. 

From south to north the prospect ran 

Prom Beersheba unto Dan 

The bounds from "utmost Western Sea" 

To desert plains of Araby; 

Prom Shihor's intermittent stream 

To where the heights of Hermon gleam. 

In Hebron, through the centuries, 
The patriarchs have slept in peace; 
There Abraham had spread his tent; 
And there received God's covenant: 
To him Jehovah's angel spoke 
At Mamre, by the spreading oak. 

Borne by the coward spies once were 
The heavy clustered grapes from there; 
The grapes from Eschol's spreading vine, 
Of fruitfulness and joy the sign. 
There Caleb had his promised share, 
When Joshua had ceased from war. 
There David over Judah reigned 
Till all of Israel he gained. 
137 



138 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Adullam, cave of discontent, 
Where all distressed to David went, 
Gave refuge to the future king 
When Saul in rage was following. 

Near unto Bethel — Luz of old, 

In dreams, was Jacob's future told. 

There Abraham an altar reared. 

Before the God whom he revered 

There Jeroboam's calf of gold, 

In later years, was set, to hold 

The northern tribes from Judah's fane; 

And keep them loyal to his reign. 

In Dan a calf and altar stood 
To draw them from their fathers' God, 
Two golden calves, two altars rose 
The God of Abram to oppose. 

At Shiloh long the ark of God, 
Within the tabernacle stood, 
With altar, priest, and offering. 
Devoted men each day would bring. 
There Hannah brought young Samuel, 
Who ministered till Eli fell. 



To Gilgal came the tribes when they 
In council met with Joshua 
And there memorial stones were placed 
To mark the Jordan safely passed; 
Of these no traces now remain: 



Among the hills was Gibeon 
Where God appeared to Solomon, 
There long the tabernacle stood 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 139 

Where men made offerings to God, 

The men of Gibeon were they 

Who made a league with Joshua, 

"The watch tower," Mizpah, rises nigh, 

Itself oft known in history. 

With outlook to the western main 

And eastward far to hill and plain. 

In Bethlehem, "the house of bread," 

Was Ruth to noble Boaz wed. 

Thence went the shepherd youth to fight 

Goliath, in his giant might, 

And won the crown of Israel. 

And there was born Immanuel. 

And there the eastern wise men bore 

Frankincense, myrrh and golden store, 

The infant Jesus to adore. 

At Ephrah is loved Rachel's tomb, 

As near to Bethlehem we come. 

In Elah's vale Goliath stood 
Defying Israel and God. 
There David with a sling and stone 
Laid low the boastful champion. 

To Shechem Abraham first went 
His altar built, and spread his tent. 
Near Moreh, where a pleasant shade 
The spreading oak at noontide made. 
And there, on Ebal, standing near. 
Did Joshua an altar rear; 
And Jacob's well and Joseph's tomb 
Are by the way men hither come. 

On Gerizim a temple stood 

To keep alive an old-time feud. 



140 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Samaritans, with rival court, 
Did there for sacrifice resort. 

Bold Carmel, by the western sea, 
Looks out afar, o'er tide and lea; 
That Carmel where Elijah stood 
And called from heaven the fire of God; 
And blood of Baal's prophets dyed 
The waters of the western tide, 
Where Kishon, foaming, dashing, goes 
To find in the Great Sea repose. 

Ajalon vale lies in the west, 
Where once at Joshua's behest 
The moon upon her course did stay 
Till Israel had won the day; 
While o'er the hills of Gibeon, 
All day was held the waiting sun. 

Where roses garland Sharon plain 
That stretches to the western main 
And southward by the ancient road. 
There Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashod 
Reared temples to Philistia's god; 
There Sampson fell, and falling slew 
Their lords and Baal's priestly crew. 

From Joppa (Jaffa,) by the sea, 
For Tarshish, Jonah sought to flee. 
In vision there was Peter shown 
That God claims all men for His own. 

At Cesarea, by the sea. 

Through Peter's faithful ministry, 

Cornelius, the centurion 

The way of life in Christ was shown, 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 141 

There Herod, in his pomp and pride 
Of worms was eaten that he died. 
Agrippa and Bemice there 
With Festus heard a prisoner 
His message in His Master's name. 
Undaunted by their state, proclaim 
His message given, journeyed Paul 
In chains to Rome's great capital. 

Still northward, standing by the sea, 
Was Tyre, oft warned in prophecy, 
Her ancient splendor made her fall 
A warning terrible to all. 
Her sister Sidon filled the seas 
With fleets, and sent forth colonies. 

Mt. Olivet, by Kidron's rill, 

Faced Zion, David's holy hill 

Where Judah's royal city stood — 

Jerusalem, his loved abode, 

And eastward, nigh to Jordan's strand 

Did Jericho, "palm city," stand. 

This land had fields of old renown 
That saw great captains overthrown. 
Where Gerizim and Ebal rise, 
Northward the plain Esdraelon lies — 
Old battle field of centuries — 
That nolds in dust uncounted dead. 
Eastward Gilboa rears his head — 
Blood stained Gilboa, where king Saul 
Went forth to battle and to fall. 

Alone does lofty Tabor stand 

And look afar o'er all the land, 

To Hermon north, and eastern plain; 



143 THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 

To southern hills and western main. 
There Deborah beheld the fight 
Of Barak, and Sisera's flight. 
Midway of east and western line 
The Jordan winds through Palestine 
Two hundred miles the river's course 
Goes southward from its highland source; 
From Merom waters, in the north 
Down to the Dead Sea pouring forth, 
A thousand and three hundred feet 
Deep plunging the salt wave to meet. 
In sixty miles from north to south, 
A bird could fly from source to mouth; 
It widens, going toward the sea. 
And deepens in Lake Gallilee. 

EASTERN PALESTINE. 

Beyond the Jordan's rocky bed 
Were pasture lands of Gilead 
The Hauran, stretching far away. 
O'er plains, toward old Damascus lay. 
A hundred cities in that land. 
Deserted now and silent stand. 
Beyond the Dead Sea's southern shores 
Rose Bozrah's ancient walls and towers. 
Of cities built by Esau's race 
No other held so large a place. 
Its massive palaces and fanes 
Are marvelous in their remains. 

Macherus' walls rose gloomily. 
On rocks beyond the bitter sea, — 
A palace and a prison joined 
To suit the despot Herod's mind. 
To please the king's resentful wife 
Was John the Baptist reft of life. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 143 

In Gilead, to Mahanaim, 
King David, fleeing, weary came 
When driven from Jerusalem; 
And there he mourned for Absalom. 

Peniel, Jabbok stream and ford. 
Are there, where Jacob met his Lord; 
The Jabbok, but a slender brook, 
Its way to Jordan westward took 
The Arnon, Reuben's western bound 
Its outlet in the Dead Sea found. 

Elijah, prophet, "the Tishbite," 
In Gilead first saw the light. 
And there, with Jericho in sight, 
His fiery chariot took its flight. 
Where Cherith laves his stony bed, 
By ravens was Elijah fed. 

The Romans, when to rule they came. 
Gave to each province a new name; 
The northern they called Gallilee, 
The southern was Judea, 
The middle land Samaria, 
Southward was Perea, 
Northeastward Trachonitis lay 
Where Herod Philip once bore sway. 

TRIBAL DIVISIONS. 

When Joshua was in command 
And held, in trust, the Holy Land, 
Twelve tribes, the Sons of Israel, 
Received by lot their place to dwell. 
Toward sunrise from the Jordan's bed 
On hills and plains of Gilead 
Were tribes of Reuben and of Gad, 



144 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Manasseh's sons their cattle fed, 
In Bashan, north of Gilead. 
From Jordan to the western sea, 
Where mountams, plains and valley be, 
There Judah held a southern zone; 
Still farther south was Simeon; 
The northern group claimed Zebulon, 
And Isachur, and Naphtali, 
To Dan and Ashur's boundary. 
Dan looked afar on the Great Sea, 
The central hills and vales between 
Held Ephraim and Benjamin — 
So close to Judah's northern line 
They come, their boundaries combine. 

THE ANCIENT CITIES. 

Beyond this country's utmost bound 
Ten ancient cities ruled around — 
Eastward Damascus, Babylon, 
And Ninevah each held a throne. 
Far south Egyptian Thebes arose. 
And Memphis, home of the Pharaohs, 
And long was Alexandria 
Store-house and school of Africa. 

Westward afar imperial Rome 
Had mistress of the world become. 
And Athens, called "the eye of Greece," 
Had won renown in war and peace. 
Far north, where Ephesus sat queen; 
Diana's fane held rites obscene — 
The temple, with its colonade. 
The world's third wonder, it was said. 
To celebrate a warrior's fame 
Rose Antioch and bears his name. 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 145 

WALKS AND WORKS OF JESUS. 

Three years did Jesus daily move 
In tireless ministry of love. 
On Hattin's height the multitude 
To hear His first great sermon stood. 

His name and fame the people knew, 
For John had borne Him witness true. 
And He, baptized in Jordan's tide, 
Had seen the heavens opened wide, 
Had heard from God the Father's throne 
"This is my well beloved Son." 
Had met, in Judah's desert lone, 
And overcome the wicked one; 
Had turned the water into wine 
"And showed His glory forth" divine. 
Had cleansed polluted temple courts. 
Where traders made profane resorts, 

By night the counselor had showed 

What grace the Father hath bestowed; 

That "God so loved the world He gave 

His only Son the lost to save; 

That whosoe'er on Him believeth 

By Him eternal life receiveth"; 

Had sat by Jacob's well and taught 

That He Messiah's message brought; 

That He life-giving waters bore, 

That he who drinks shall thirst no more; 

Had stilled die waves when winds arose; 

Had walked unharmed among His foes. 

In Nazareth, His early home. 

And in seaside Capernaum, 

In feast days at Jerusalem 

To teach and heal had Jesus come. 

Where Tyre and Sidon's borders met. 



146 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

Near Tabor and on Olivet, 

Where Kidron's classic waters flow 

And where Bethesda's fountains flow, 

Along the shores of Gallilee, 

Where sailors tempt the tossing sea. 

In crowds that throng Bethsaida plain, 

At Cana and the gates of Nain, 

In towns where toil the slaves of gain, 

In city street and rural lane. 

In Cesarea Phillippi, 

Samaria and Bethany, 

In cities of Decapolis, 

And in a hundred villages — 

In Gilead, the land of halm, 

And on the lake in storm and calm, 

On snow-crowned Hermon's lofty sides 

In all the way where Jordan glides. 

Where Lebanon's proud cedars grow, 

By stately palms of Jericho, 

In synagogue and temple court. 

Where men to meet their God resort 

He taught and healed the multitude, 

Confessed "a Teacher sent from God." 

His life a daily sacrifice. 

He led the way to paradise. 

On Golgotha sealed with His blood 

His mission as "the Son of God." 

From Olivet, raised from the dead. 

Was borne to heaven as He had said. 

Then spoke two from the heavenly train, 

"So shall this Jesus come again." 



THE LAND ; ITS LORD AND SACRED LORE. 147 



MY CONFESSION. 



Thy Lordship, Jesus, I confess; 

Supreme Thy gracious word; 
"Thy law is truth" and righteousness, 

Thou art Creation's Lord. 

By Thee, the everlasting God 
Wrought all His works divine; 

By Thee proclaimed His law abroad, 
And showed His vast design. 

The planets and the golden sun. 

And all the stars of night, 
Forever circling round Thy throne 

Are held by Thy great might. 

Each flower, and shrub, and every tree 

Thy law for them obey; 
And all on earth, and in the sea 

Yield to Thy mighty sway. 

Thy law, the mandate of Thy will. 

Was with Creation born, — 
Shall guide Creation's course until 

Creation's latest morn. 



148 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 



AN EVENING REVERIE. 

GENTLY falls the twilight glow, 
Mildly beams the vesper star, 
Softly vesper breezes blow, 
Sweetly woo to praise and prayer. 

Father, now the day is done. 
Study, toil and pleasures past; 
Pardon grant through Christ thy Son, 
Bring us home to Thee at last. 

Praise we bring for sins forgiven. 
Praise for all Thy mercy shown; 
Praise shall be Thy need in Heaven, 
With the loved around Thy throne. 



"JESUS SAVIOR, PILOT ME." 

Proposed additional (second) verse. 

Thou didst walk on Galilee, 
When its billions bowed to Thee; 
Thy disciples Thou didst cheer; 
Toiling, rowing, filled with fear, 
Roused the storm or stilled the sea, 
Jesus, Savior, pilot me. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 149 

FRAGMENTS. 

Written after the foregoing was in press and given here in 
the belief that with dramatic incidents they will be useful for 
Sunday School and other recitations. 

P. 42: 

CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

Psalms xxiii; John x. 

His mission often Jesus told, 

By striking metaphor and bold, 

Oft drawn from oracles of old. 

So, when the Jews renewed their strife, 

He said, "I am the Light of Life"; 

And when they pressed him sore, he said: 

"I am come forth, the living bread. 

I am the Good Shepherd; I give 

My own life that my sheep may live. 

My sheep will hear my voice and know. 

And, with me, out and in will go — 

In pastures fresh, feed and repose, 

Securely kept from all their foes. 

The hireling, when the wolf he sees. 

Because he is a hireling, flees. 

The wolf will come and tear the sheep 

The hireling, false, has failed to keep. 

And other sheep I have enrolled 

Them will I bring, all to one fold — 

One fold, one Shepherd, there shall be — 

One flock, of all who follow me." 

"I am the door; the way is plain: 
By me alone men entrance gain — 
The thief, the robber, seeking prey, 
Will climb up by some other way." 



150 THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 

p. 104— AFTER PAR. CLXIX. 

JUDGMENT OF EVIL RULERS. 

Matt, xxiii. 
CLXVIX. 
The Master's manly spirit saw with, pain 
And righteous indignation, not suppressed, 
Hypocrisy, extortion, greed of gain 
In priest, and ruler; wrongs go unredressed — 
On scribes and Pharisees his condemnation fell — 
"How can ye — brood of vipers — find escape from hell?' 
Strange, startling sentence to such woes express 
From lips that ever, elsewhere, spoke with grace. 
The answer of the culprits came in that wild cry. 
In Pilate's court — "Away with Him — and crucify!" 

P. 105: 

Men found Christ in the place of public prayer. 
To meet Him, friends and foes resorted there: 
These came to plot, to palter and provoke: 
Those sought Him for the gracious words He spoke. 
Self-satisfied these were, by envy stirred; 
Those oft found healing in His vital word — 
An earnest all of what mankind should see. 
Concerning Him, in every passing century: 
Men hear his words, gain only what they seek — 
Proud cavillers, or trusting souls, and meek. 
"Savior of life" to these; "of aeath" to those: 
So does the sacred oracle disclose. 

A PROPHETIC IMPRECATION. 

Matt, xxvii. 
And Pilate washed his guilty hands in vain — 
Consenting that the Sinless One be slain. 
"On us and on our children be His blood — " 
Self sentence shouted they, nor understood 
They how their imprecation would — Alas! 
Fall on their race as generations pass. 



THE land; its lord and sacred lore. 151 

p. 130— AFTER PAR. CCIII. 

Lord, when thou didst ascend on high 

What glories filled the Heavenly dome, 

When myriad myriads of the sky 

Rejoicing sang thy welcome home; 

When patriarchs and prophets old 

Saw thy redeeming work complete. 

And tuned anew their harps of gold 

And songs their Victor Lord to greet. 

That day celestial gates, wide open thrown, 

Received High Heaven's returning First Born Son; 

While angel voices in melodious anthems rang — 

'Lift up your heads ye everlasting doors," they sang — 

"Lift up your heads, and let The King of Glory in — 

The Victor over Death and all the hosts of Sin." 



P. 120: 



Dismissed by wicked Herod, with disdain, 

Christ, set at naught by Herod's serving men, 

Still uncondemned,while still the Jews complain, 

In Pilate's court is haled to stand again. 

In royal purple robe the soldiers have arrayed 

Him. In derision bow before Him 

A crown of piercing thorns press on His head, 

Smite on the cheek, and in pretense adore Him: 

Blindfold Him: hail Him King in heartless glee — 

"Who was it smote Thee" — bid Him "prophecy:" 

And after all this bitter mockery 

And dreadful scourging, lead Him out to die. 



ERRATA 

P. 17. For "Jeboim" read Zeboim. 

P. 29. A manger and a rocky cave 

P. 31. Her whom already days but brief 

P. 33. For last line insert: 

At twelve in God His Father's house. 

P. 36. Paragraph jli read: 

Edershiem and Geikle. 

P. 148. Line 11, for "need" read meed. 

P. 148. Line 5 from bottom, for "billions" read billows. 



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